The Collector
by PixieGirl13
Summary: Full Summary Inside: The Curator to the most prestigious and honorable ghost museum in all the Ghost Zone is tired of collecting simple artifacts of art and history. He's not satisfied with interesting, important ghosts that enjoy being on display...
1. Chapter 1 The Capture

Full Summary: The Curator to the most prestigious and honorable ghost museum in all the Ghost Zone is tired of collecting simple artifacts of art and history. He's not satisfied with interesting, important ghosts that enjoy being on display. His new sights are set on collecting humans. Most recently, his eyes have fallen on a match set of Halfas, and he has finally decided to collect them.

A/N: So excited to start this fic! That's why I shoved all the explanations and stuff to the latter author's note. I just wanna hop right into this thing. So to all those readers who know me, Pixiegirl13, I'm glad to see you aboard! And thanks for reading to all you new readers! Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: This will never get old. Mutantlover and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters.

The Collector

By: Pixiegirl13 and Mutantlover09

Chapter 1 The Capture

"If you really don't like my method of ruining your town, Danny, maybe you should form and sign a petition like a real citizen," Vlad Plasmius said with a mocking smirk. "Not behave like a criminal and attack me in the middle of my dinner."

Danny Phantom laughed without humor as his fists shone with an unearthly, green glow. It was safe to say the young half-ghost was pissed.

"You're one to talk about being a criminal, Plasmius," Danny growled back at the man. "Last time I checked, robbing banks is against the law."

The teenager was furious. Not twenty minutes ago, he'd gotten the scare of his life. One moment, he'd been hanging out with his friends at the mall. The next, his ears had been assaulted by heavy alarms and screams of terror as loud sirens went off throughout the entire building at sensing his ghost form. Apparently, the Mayor had installed them to "protect the wonderful citizens of Amity Park from ghostly threats."

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at his archenemy. "You ruin my hangout time, I ruin your dinner," he said, flashing an angry smirk. "I think that's fair, Mr. Mayor."

The two adversaries were hovering over a turned over table in Vlad's second home in Amity Park. The mayor's dinner had been flung all over the wall and scattered across the floor. Some of it had hit Vlad in the process of Danny suddenly storming in with fists blazing. This was the second time Danny had acted upon his anger that month, so Vlad wasn't too surprised to see him there. Nevertheless, it was a big inconvenience.

Vlad was still brushing splattered food off himself as he addressed Danny with a pleased smile, "I was wondering when those monitors and alarms would be installed. I'm delighted to see that they work properly."

Placing his hands on his hips, the man asked the boy, "Daniel, what do you intend to do now that you've properly destroyed my dinner? Do you want to talk about it? You know this won't get you anywhere, but I guess some children must learn the hard way."

Danny's fists tightened as Vlad spoke to him. He was using that tone of voice that clearly stated just how young and childish the man thought he was. It was infuriating! He hated to be talked down to by Vlad. Not to mention, he was way passed talking at this point. His day off had been going so well until Vlad found some way to ruin it. Vlad always found ways to ruin his relaxation days. Always.

_First, he has the nerve to move here and mess with my head. Now he's actually messing with my life. It's not fair!_ Danny seethed inside his head as his teeth gritted together, jaw locking stubbornly.

Anger reaching its boiling point, Danny flung his glowing hands forward and yelled, "I'll let my fists do the talking!" Twin blasts of ectoplasm shot from his palms and flew steadily towards Vlad the second his shout ended. Still smiling in amusement over Danny's obvious anger, Vlad brought up a protective shield and easily avoided the blasts aimed at him. Flying sharply to his left, Vlad threw a ball of ectoplasm energy at the teen experimentally.

Danny's eyes widened at Vlad's quick return attack, and he turned himself intangible to dodge the ectoblast. He sunk down into the table to avoid anymore blasts and, after a moment of silence, the teen blasted up from beneath Vlad. He let out a furious shout as he slung a punch into the man's jaw. Vlad rolled with the punch, recovered almost instantly, and came back with a kick to Danny's exposed chest, coupled with an ecto-ray for good measure.

The kick succeeded in driving most of the breath from Danny's lungs. As he stumbled back from the blow, the ray of energy slammed into his gut and threw him to the ground several feet away. If he hadn't had trouble breathing before, he certainly did now.

Danny curled in on himself and rolled onto his knees as he sucked in air to fill his abused lungs. He felt like a gasping fish. _Crap, that hurt._ He shook his white-haired head and glared back at Vlad as he shoved himself up to a crouch, holding a hand to his bruised stomach.

Panting softly, Danny muttered, "You kick like a girl." Before Vlad could comment, Danny shot several green discs at him, followed quickly by a round of chunks of ice just to mix it up.

Swiping a palm through the air, Vlad easily conjured another shield to avoid the attack. Now that things were picking up, Vlad swiftly flew back down to the ground, heaved into his hands his giant oak table that Danny had ruined, and proceeded to use it like a bat on the boy. As he hit Danny and flung him across the room, the man shouted back, "At least I don't swing like one!"

Danny cried out as he was smacked across the room like a human baseball, and he slammed into a glass display case before flopping to the ground on his stomach. The boy groaned, trying to regain his bearings as Packers memorabilia fell to the floor around him. He shook his pounding head again, frowning sourly when a grinning picture of Vlad shaking hands with one of the Green Bay players landed in front of him.

The teen slowly pushed himself back to his feet, grimacing when his vision swam momentarily. _Man, Sam would kill me for that kicking like a girl comment,_ Danny realized as his eyes locked with Vlad's again. The boy's green eyes momentarily flicked down for a moment before he grinned evilly. There was more than one way to get revenge on Vlad.

Turning swiftly on his heel, Danny raised his hand and shot an ecto-blast directly into the picture, destroying it instantly . "Whoops," Danny commented as if he'd just done something particularly clumsy. He put a hand against his face in mock woe. "My bad, V-Man. I guess I still don't have very good control of my powers."

Now, it was one thing interrupting Vlad during one of his meals. It was an entirely different matter when you messed with the man's prized possessions. Especially when it came down to the Packers. Face instantly losing its smirk and adopting a hard frown, Vlad narrowed his red eyes at Danny.

"Don't be a sore loser, boy," Vlad said with extreme annoyance in his voice. "Just because I'm trying to make this town safe and ghost-free the legal way (unlike you, might I add) doesn't mean you have to take it so personally." Vlad grinned inwardly, proud of his little jab at Danny. It was sure to set the boy off. Such a fun and easy game for the mayor.

Danny's hands instantly curled into fists at hearing Vlad's response. That wasn't what he'd been expecting. He'd been prepared for anger and maybe some sort of comment about 'making him pay for that.' He'd gotten none of that. Instead, the man just gave him that smug grin that he'd always been giving him since the day they'd met. The smirk that made his teeth grit together and blood boil.

"Don't try and act like you're doing all this for the good of the city," Danny growled out, eyes glowing brighter along with his anger. "You're just here to mess with me and make my life harder because you've got nothing better to do!"

All rationality was thrown out the window as Danny leapt into the air and flew towards Vlad, shouting as loudly as he could, "Get your own life, fruitloop!"

Unfortunately, the move was predicted way before Danny had thought of it. Vlad was already in position to face the teen's charge head on. Seconds before Danny plowed into him in his fury, Vlad used the boy's momentum against him by grabbing Danny's shoulders, leaning back to avoid a a collision, and pulling Danny and himself into a backwards flip. The move disoriented the teen enough for Vlad to slam him into the ground by his shoulders, successfully pinning him there.

Danny did not like the way his head was spinning. He'd smacked it against the floor when Vlad so irritatingly easily threw him down, and now it looked like there was three Vlad's floating above him with that mocking smirk. If his head hadn't been throbbing so badly, he probably would've been more annoyed by his position. He couldn't exactly move, and Vlad had totally kicked his butt in this fight without even breaking a sweat. And they both knew it.

"Did you ever consider that I mess with you and your silly, pathetic town, not only because it's fun, but because it's so ridiculously easy?" Vlad sneered into Danny's face, flashing a triumphant grin.

Danny was definitely upset by the man's comment, but he shoved the feeling away and struggled to get out of Vlad's pin. He wouldn't call it quits yet.

Squinting hard to return his vision to normal, the boy sarcastically growled out, "So I guess you just gave up on that whole not sounding loopy thing, huh?"

Vlad opened his mouth to reply with an witty comeback, but someone's voice prevented him from continuing by cutting him off.

_"Stop,"_ the voice said calmly and evenly, as if quelling the wails of a crying baby. The mysterious voice was cold and stern yet undeniably mellifluous, to the point that it was very hard not to obey such a command.

The effect was frighteningly instant. Vlad felt his body seize up before being frozen in place. It wasn't an uncomfortable or unpleasant feeling; on the contrary, in a way, the lack of motion felt like the right thing to do. Still, a red flag flew up in Vlad's head as he tried to stand up but simply couldn't muster the motivation to disobey the voice. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"What's going on? Is this one of your tricks, Daniel?" Vlad growled out, shooting the pinned boy a deadly glare. Though he thought he needed to ask, Vlad didn't believe Danny was behind the hypnotic voice, because the teen had suddenly ceased all squirming and struggling, becoming uncharacteristically very still just like Vlad.

"As much as I'd like to take credit for that dumb expression on your face, that wasn't me," Danny answered, his nervousness coming out in his voice. He hadn't been able to move before that mysterious voice had spoken, but now, not only could he not move, he didn't _want_ to move. If he moved right now, he felt like he'd be breaking some sort of non-moving law.

His wide, green eyes met Vlad's, confused and worried that neither of them could move. What the heck was going on? Why weren't they able to move? Who the crap had spoken to them like that? And, most importantly, why couldn't either of them disobey that stern order? He could see it in Vlad's eyes...the man didn't want to move anymore than he did.

Danny gasped a little as his ghost sense went off, and a chill rapidly shot down his spine. If possible, his eyes widened further.

"Oh... crap."

That wasn't good. No way was that good.

Vlad saw Danny ghost sense go off, and the two shared a look of deep concern. Somehow another ghost had snuck up on them while they were fighting. Frowning as the wheels spun furiously in Vlad's head, the man tried to find a way out of their current predicament. There should have been some kind of alarm to alert the man to the ghost's presence, but he guessed it didn't go off due to Danny being there and dismantling the system.

_"Rise,"_ the voice ordered smoothly.

Without hesitation, Vlad stood up along with Danny. They stood facing each other, bewildered and worried. Vlad even caught the glimpse of fear on the boy's face. He was hiding it well, but it was still there. The man didn't blame the teen for being freaked. If Vlad had to be honest, he would admit he was feeling the same. Some unknown powerful ghost had them in its snare, treating them like living puppets for a mysterious purpose. Who wouldn't be a little scared?

"Try moving," Vlad told Danny. He hated to sound weak, but this was no time to let pride get in the way. They needed to escape. "Somehow I can't fight it," he admitted. "Can you?"

"Would I be standing here if I could?" Danny instantly snapped back before he really thought about it. He was way too freaked out to worry about being polite. Someone had just ordered them to stand up, and they'd done it! He couldn't refuse what that voice was telling him to do! And, worst of all, neither could Vlad! Anything that could control Vlad had to be powerful. That thought scared the heck out of the boy.

His eyes met Vlad's, and his heavy breathing halted a little. Danny had never been the best at reading the man, but he could see the anxiety in Vlad's gaze. Now that he thought about it, Vlad had actually sounded as freaked out as he felt. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard Vlad sound worried about anything.

Danny bit down hard on his bottom lip. This was so bad. If Vlad was scared, this was so, so, bad. "What do we do?" he hissed to Vlad, doing his best to sound calm and steady.

"Because I have all the answers," Vlad retorted irritably. Pressing his lips together, the man forced himself to calm his emotions and think straight by closing his eyes and releasing a long, slow breath. Taking his anger out on Danny wouldn't help either of them.

Opening his eyes, Vlad told Danny with renewed calmness in his voice, "Calm down. Try to think. Have you battled a ghost like this one before? We need to find a way to break whatever power it has over us before it demands something more...drastic."

Vlad didn't want to know to what extent he'd obey the voice. Though his nerves were tight with apprehension, he was still unable and unwilling to move his body.

Danny would never admit how much better he felt when Vlad spoke to him again with that calm superiority back in his voice. It was definitely reassuring to hear, though he'd never say that out loud.

"Um..." Danny glanced down towards Vlad's feet as he tried to think. He honestly couldn't remember ever encountering a ghost like this before. It wasn't just forcing them to listen...it was making them want to listen. "N-no," the boy stammered, eyebrows furrowing deeply as he looked back up at Vlad. "I don't know. I don't think so."

"Don't panic, boy," Vlad ordered. "That won't get us anywhere. Maybe if we-."

_"Do not talk,"_ the voice commanded suddenly.

Vlad willingly closed his mouth, but it was clear by his wince that he was fighting the voice any way he could. Gritting his teeth, the man swept his eyes almost desperately around the room in search for the owner of the voice, but he knew it was already too late. Him and Danny were trapped like flies in a spider's web. It didn't matter how hard they struggled now. They were stuck in the trap and would have to ride it out. Vlad could only hope it wasn't to their death.

_Great, now we can't even talk. _Danny groaned internally the moment his ability to talk was taken away. Well, technically, he willingly gave it away, but that wasn't the point. He still couldn't see whatever ghost was controlling them. Why was the ghost messing with them like this? He obviously knew they couldn't do anything, so why drag out whatever he was going to do?

Taking one look at Danny, Vlad could see the panic seeping into the teen. All the man could manage was a grim smile to try to calm the boy down. In a small way, Vlad was glad he wasn't the only one going through the frightening experience.

Danny looked warily back up at Vlad. He wasn't sure if the man was trying to make him feel better with that creepy grin or just straight up trying to freak him out more. When Vlad smiled, bad things usually happened to him. After a confused pause, Danny decided to be optimistic and take the smile as a form of comfort, and he gave a small one in return. However, his eyes clearly said, _We are so dead._

From his place only a few yards away, Danny's and Vlad's captor stood invisible, watching and testing them. He had to make sure they were truly prisoners under his captivating power, and that took time and effort. With slow, methodical head movements, he studied the two hybrid ghosts in turn as if they were intriguing specimens under a microscope or long lost ancient artifacts being examined. Every flicker of expression and twitch of movement by them was taken into great account by the invisible observer while he used his power on them.

When finally satisfied with the information he had obtained and pleased with the amount of control he had over his prizes, the ghost decided it was time to leave.

_"Now sleep,"_ he commanded with a smile.

The second the softly spoken order hit Danny's ears, he knew there was no way to refuse it. He hadn't been tired before, but now he was. Now he could hardly keep his eyes open. In fact, he didn't even want to keep his eyes open. The boy's eyelids seemed to weigh a million pounds. They slowly began to droop down over his green eyes, and he felt his body swaying unsteadily.

He blinked slowly a few times, staring drowsily up at Vlad. The man looked about as bad off as he did. His sudden exhaustion actually made him look his age. It was so beyond weird.

Danny yawned heavily, letting his eyes close and his head hang down. He didn't want to fight sleep. That voice had told him to sleep, and he wanted to listen. It didn't take long before he'd drifted off into la-la land. He didn't even feel his body hit the ground as he fell into the heaviest sleep of his life.

A/N: What's with my fan fics and making poor, ol' Danny pass out during the first chapter or two? Suspense maybe? Or perhaps I'm a little sadistic? It's kind of refreshing to make Vlad pass out too, though. He totally deserves it. Ha ha!

But Mutantlover and I have some great stuff for you guys! I'll tell you guys now that the process of writing it and brainstorming is going really well, and we're having a blast! Which means, I'm sure, that you readers will enjoy it too.

So, how this fan fic works is this: Mutantlover and I write/post to each other on a forum. I write only for Vlad and an OC, and she writes for only Danny and her OC. So every other paragraph or so is a different writer. Then, for editing, we just compile our posts together in one document, sort the paragraphs out so that they flow better, and then clean up any grammar mistakes. We take turns editing the chapters. I get the odd ones, and she gets the even ones. So next chapter will be an editing from Mutantlover, but it will still be my account that will post it.

We're thinking of posting a new chapter every weekend or two. Two weeks is kinda long, though. Maybe every one and a half weeks? Not sure. Still, the updates won't be more than 2 weeks apart.

But I'm not sure yet how we're gonna deal with responding to your reviews. Anyways, details like that can be sorted out later. Maybe if you have a question, you can address it to either of us and that corresponding person will respond. I don't know. Until we know, I'm gonna try to respond as much as I can with the time I have.

So, yeah. Lots of information in one author's note. I'm sorry! Just wanted to update you awesome readers on what we're doing. That's all! So, you guys have an awesome week, and hopefully we'll see you next weekend!


	2. Chapter 2 Making Friends

ML: So hey! I'm ML or Mutantlover if ya'll want to get all formal. I got stuff to say, but I'll save that for after this long chapter! However, I'll give you guys a brief synopsis of what's happened so far 'cause I'm nice like that. And, also, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad people are enjoying this story so far! It's only gonna get better!

On the last/first chapter of The Collector: After Vlad managed to ruin one of Danny's very rare day-offs, the two half-ghosts proceeded to have a battle that ended up with both of them coming under the control of a mysterious ghost! Gasp! Before the two could figure out who it was, they were put to sleep! To find out where they are now, just go on ahead and read this chapter, you silly readers.

Disclaimer: Neither of us owns any Danny Phantom characters, but we own our OC's. So take that.

Chapter 2: Making Friends

Slowly drifting back to consciousness, Vlad flittered in and out of dream land. His body felt heavy and lethargic as reality gradually came upon him. Then, in a rush of sounds and a bombardment of sensations, Vlad fully awoke with a start. He quickly opened his eyes, was greeted with a bright light, and squeezed them tightly shut in regret.

Giving a small grunt, the man rolled onto his side and supported himself up onto an elbow before looking around. Danny laid out beside him in human form, still soundly asleep. The room was plain, square, and white walled except for one wall that was completely glass. Behind the glass stood a cluster of ghosts, peering into the room with curious expressions.

Vlad frowned, instinctively recoiling from the onlookers in confusion and anxiety. He had no idea where he was. It was time to consult the boy. Leaning over, Vlad shoved Danny's shoulder, telling him in an irritated growl, "Get up, Daniel. Come on. Get up!"

Vlad's voice seemed to hit Danny's ears from a great distance. It was very soft at first, but it started to get louder and more irritated the longer he stayed in the blissful darkness of sleep. Groaning softly under his breath, Danny rolled onto his side and batted his hand at whoever was touching him.

"Mm'go away," he mumbled. "Too early for tap dancing lessons, Jazz."

The teen settled back down, fully prepared to stay asleep until he was 110. The only thing that stopped him was a chill that shot down his spine, and a fine wisp of air that escaped his mouth.

Ghost sense.

Danny's eyes snapped open and instantly connected with a small, green ghost child staring in at him from the other side of a glass panel. "Whoa!" he gasped, shoving himself backwards away from the other ghosts peering in at him. His back rammed into a hard chest, and he spun on his butt to stare fearfully up at Vlad.

The boy was silent for several seconds as his eyes flicked between his worst enemy and the ghosts examining him. It was as if Vlad could see the gears turning in Danny's head as he tried to figure out what was going on. Eventually, he was able to point at Vlad and mutter, "What the heck did you do?"

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Oh, because this is my fault now, is it?" he spat back. He wondered why he had even tried to awake the teen now. He was useless; nothing more than unwanted luggage that would try to tag along as Vlad tried to escape.

Swiftly getting to his feet, Vlad made an effort not to glance at the people watching him through the glass wall. Looking around, he sneered down to Danny, "Because I'm the one who put us both asleep, dragged us into the Ghost Zone, and locked us in this room. That's right, Daniel. It's all part of my diabolical evil plan."

Turning away from the kid to continue his quick search for an easy exit or escape, Vlad swore under his breath. Things weren't looking good for him.

Danny sat still as he watched Vlad get up before his eyes were unwillingly drawn to the creepers staring in at them. He had honestly never felt so awkward before in his life...and his pants had fallen to his ankles a total number of 23 times in his high school career. Grimacing to try and hide the feeling, Danny stood up as well. He stayed as far away from that glass window as he could as he looked around. He didn't see a way out of here, and if they were in the Ghost Zone, how come they couldn't phase through this box thing?

He pressed his hands flat against the wall, narrowing his eyes slightly when nothing happened. They were totally stuck, and he could definitely feel the eyes of those creeps burning into his back. It was beyond creepy!

"I dunno, Vlad," Danny said without looking back at the man. "This does seem like this could be one of your loopy plans gone wrong. You sure whoever did this isn't just some ghost you stole something important from?" Danny peered over his shoulder and gave a cold laugh. "Yeah, not like that's ever happened before or anything."

Starring flatly at the far wall with shoulders tight from unease and deep frustration, Vlad took a moment to steady his emotions before glaring over at Danny. "Yes, that _must_ be it," Vlad retorted. "Clearly when they came after me, they simply decided to kidnap you too, just for fun. That's right. Kidnappers: they're all in it for the laughs and giggles."

Eyes rolling skyward again, the man grumbled, "Oh, please. Don't be so childish. Obviously our kidnapper wanted us both, though his reasons are unclear besides putting us into a box on display." Vlad finished the sentence by glancing at the glass wall with a grim expression caught on his face. Their predicament was creepy and unsettling, to say the least. Vlad was a secretive man. He didn't appreciate having so many ghosts goggling at him as if he was some monkey in a cage at the zoo.

Danny's eyes followed Vlad's, and he stared sourly at the glass wall. _Man, that's so creepy_. The ghosts were totally staring in at them like they were the most amusing things on the planet. He'd had people stare at him before - usually when he did something extremely clumsy - but this was definitely the worst.

"See? That's what I'm talking about," Danny said, using both hands to gesture angrily at Vlad. "That! Right there!" When he received no response other than a confused eyebrow arch, the teen threw his hands in the air and shouted, "You totally think like whoever did this to us! It's creepy! Cut it out!"

He angrily turned away and pressed his hands against the wall again, focusing on phasing them through it with his ghost powers. The move turned out to be completely useless because he was unable to do anything. Both his human and ghost half were trapped in this box with his worst nemesis. Probably the crappiest scenario he could think of.

"This has to be your fault!" Danny exclaimed as he glared icily back at Vlad. "You probably planned this whole thing out just so that I'd get stuck in here with you so that you could brainwash me into liking you or something!

Folding his arms across his chest, Vlad couldn't help but give a short, mirthless chuckle at Danny's statement. "Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it trying to change you," he said sourly, "because you can be such a mindless dolt."

Pointing to the teen as if to make a point, Vlad asked angrily, "Really, Daniel? You really believe you're going to get out of this room so easily? Whoever kidnapped us knows we're both human and ghost. And do you actually believe I put us here? Why? So I could babysit you for a few hours in a damn display case so every ghost in the Ghost Zone could watch?" Running a hand through his silver hair as his anxiety rose, he added contemptuously, "Honestly, I don't know why I bother with you."

"Why you bother with me?" Danny snarled back, hands coiling into fists at his sides. His anger from earlier had returned tenfold. He was trapped somewhere in the Ghost Zone with his worst enemy and freaky ghosts staring at him and unable to use his powers to help him. He didn't need Vlad to be a jerk to him as well!

Danny stepped up to Vlad and shoved a hostile forefinger into his chest. "You bother with me because nobody likes you! You mess with my entire family because you want someone to care about you when no one in the world ever could! Because you're a lonely, bitter old man!"

The rope called patience inside Vlad suddenly snapped when hearing Danny's callous words. Placing his hands on Danny's shoulders, the man roughly shoved the teen away and into the wall without any remorse. If they were going to be trapped in this box for a long time, Vlad thought he better teach the boy a lesson on respect sooner than later.

"And you're just an insolent child," Vlad spat back, dark fury in his voice. "Not to mention incredibly thick headed. You wouldn't understand the situation even if it hit you in the face."

Ectoplasm energy burst into life around his fists. Throwing back a palm, Vlad got ready to teach Danny his lesson the hard way.

"_Desist_."

Danny had been seconds away from punching Vlad in the face for shoving him, but the instant the voice spoke, his body froze in place.

Again.

Eyes widening as he recognized the voice, Danny stared up at Vlad just in time to see the man also stop moving, his hand still drawn back to deliver the attack. The two half-ghosts could only stare back at each other as they waited to see whatever the mystery ghost would do to them. However, the longer Danny looked up at Vlad, the more he began to realize that he didn't want to _not_ move. Unlike before, he felt that he could move if he just focused hard enough.

Danny narrowed his eyes in concentration, and he forced his head to turn in the direction of where the voice had come from. The second his head moved, the rest of his body quickly followed, and he let out a gasp as he stumbled a bit to the side. The teen was completely shocked to be able to move again, but the feeling was soon pushed to the back of his mind as his eyes connected with the mystery ghost that had brought them there.

He looked human, that was the first thing Danny noted about him. He was tall and thin with a hawk-like nose and inky, black hair gelled away from his pale forehead. He wore a black suit that looked like it costed more than Danny's allowance for the next five years, complete with a maroon colored pocket handkerchief.

Danny's eyes connected with the ghost's, and he shuddered a little at the quiet intensity raging in those icy blue orbs that almost glowed with a whitish light. After a small pause - that Danny was sure was used to examine him closely - the ghostly man smiled, displaying perfectly white teeth.

"Hello there," he said, voice much softer and gentler than it had ever been before. He almost sounded like a kindly teacher or something. "How are you two finding your accommodations? I hope they are to your liking."

Seeing Danny able to move indicated to Vlad that he could too. With a little concentration, he snapped himself out of the hypnotic spell going on in his head and looked over to the ghost speaking to them from the other side of the glass wall. The ghost was completely alone.

Vlad didn't like the calculating gleam in the ghost's eyes. He showed his dislike with a firm frown while lowering his glowing fist. Feeling like he was being monitored by the ghost for future intent, Vlad swiftly went through his options as he stared back at what he assumed was their kidnapper.

"As you can obviously see," Vlad responded with a flinty, unkind smile, "We adore them." Putting his hands on his hips to mask other emotions and to come off as someone who was calm yet stern, Vlad asked coolly, "Why have you brought us here?"

The ghost's eyes flicked away from Danny the instant Vlad began to speak. It was as if his entire focus had been taken away from the boy and thrown onto Vlad. He was silent and calm as the man spoke, his demeanor very relaxed even as Vlad pinned him with his demanding question.

The ghost gave a small, polite smile and replied, "Because you are interesting, Mr. Masters."

Danny's eyebrows drew together as he watched the ghost carefully. There was something about him that just felt off. It was beyond creepy. _I wonder if he meant to say crazy instead of interesting_, the boy thought to himself.

When both half-ghosts remained silent, the ghostly entity decided to forge on as he raised his hands. "This is my museum. I display many varying, unique pieces here as you will soon see." He reached forward and wrapped his knuckles against the glass, smiling again as he said, "Behind protective glass, of course. There is no touching in my museum."

The ghost swiftly cleared his throat and added, "You will refer to me as the Curator or Sir, if you please. I am here to watch over you, to make sure you are comfortable, and, most importantly, to display you for all to see and admire as the wonderful art that you are."

It took Danny much longer to form words than he first thought it would. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This guy, this Curator, was treating them like pieces of art! It was like he didn't think of them as people at all! This was sick!

"Y-you can't keep us here!" Danny shouted fearfully, his gaze shooting to Vlad as if begging him to agree. "We-we're people! We don't belong here!"

"It isn't often I come across such unique specimens, Mr. Fenton," the Curator said, nodding slightly. It was like he hadn't even heard the boy's complaints. "When I heard of the existence of a halfa, I just knew that I had to add it to my vast collection here, but then I discovered that there is actually two of you!" The Curator paused to chuckle heartily before he finished, "I had to obtain you both to complete the set, you understand. What good is a display if it is missing an important piece?"

Vlad caught Danny glancing feverishly at him, as if pleading for backup or assurance, but he ignored it and kept his narrowed gaze on their kidnapper. It could be dangerous to show fear at this stage. Besides, it was easier to work different angles when you were in control of your emotions. And that's exactly what Vlad set out to do. After all, he was a pretty good smooth talker.

Adopting an air of confidence and nonchalance, Vlad strolled up to the glass wall to speak to the ghost there watching him. "Mr. Curator," the man began with a genial chuckle, "as a connoisseur of interesting things myself, I understand how Daniel and I might be a fascinating, new piece to your...er...museum or wherever we are. We're one of a kind, aren't we, Daniel?"

Vlad gave Danny a swift glance and a cunning smile before focusing on the ghost again and continuing. "Nonetheless, Danny and I have lives of our own. You said so yourself that we're not fully human. We don't belong in the Ghost Zone. If it's interesting and/or magical antiques that you want for your collection or even money if that tickles your fancy, sir, I'd be happy to oblige and give you my own in exchange for our freedom. What do you say? We're both gentleman here. I'm sure we could work something out."

"Oh, Mr. Masters..." The Curator paused to chuckle softly. It was as if he'd just read an amusing cartoon in the newspaper. He composed himself quickly and placed one hand into his pocket as he waved the other to the side. "You seem to be under the impression that you two are the only humans here. I'm afraid that just isn't true." He brushed his free hand across his smoothed back hair and continued, "My museum contains many artifacts. I have no need for any more. You see, I have recently turned my sights onto the beauty and wonder of humanity. Such interesting characters I have seen in my travels to the human world."

The Curator's eyes seemed to stare into the distance as a light smile played on his face. "Corruption, greed, love, hate, heroics..." His gaze landed on Danny as he said the last word before it drifted back to Vlad. "And you, Mr. Masters. You are much more than just a halfa as is Mr. Fenton. It is your relationship that interests me...so complex." His gaze held a hint of adoration as he looked between the two half-ghosts. "You are the only two of your kind...yet you hate so fiercely. Why is that?"

Danny crossed his arms over his chest to hide his discomfort at being examined. He was starting to like this Curator less and less. The guy just seemed to exude creepy like a frog's skin exuded mucus. He'd totally just destroyed Vlad's argument without even trying. There seemed to be no hope that they were going to talk their way out of this.

When he received no answer to his question, the Curator clasped his hands in front of his body and smiled brightly. "Well then. I have a few rules to explain before I'm on my way," he said cheerfully. "We open at, roughly in human time, 7 in the morning. There is a clock installed in your chambers that will ding when it is time to come to your display. Do not be late. I assure you that you won't enjoy it if you are!"

Danny cringed at how happily the Curator had just said that. He sounded like an excited puppy that really needed to go outside and pee.

"There will be an hour break, roughly again, at lunchtime for those of you who eat then back to your display until you hear the ding." The Curator gestured at the half-ghosts as he went on, "Those bracelets around your wrists, that you have failed to notice I assume, are meant to keep you two together when I wish. They will not harm you, I promise."

Danny and Vlad both glanced down at their wrists as the Curator mentioned them, and they saw that there was a light-weight, metal band around their forearms. Somehow, they both had missed seeing it when they woke up. Danny chalked that one up to being freaked out and angry at each other.

The Curator clapped his hands and interlaced his fingers. "If that is all from the two of you, I will retire to my room. You may do the same." As he spoke, both half-ghosts were able to hear an almost silent _whoosh_ sound behind them. When they turned to look, they saw that a sliding door had opened up at the back of their cage.

For a moment, Vlad stood there in disbelief. He couldn't believe what was happening to him. All his life he had flown under the radar to prevent something horrible like this from happening to him, and now he was stuck right in the middle of the entire fiasco with nothing but his own wits to get him out of it. He couldn't rely on human strength or wealth, and he surely couldn't depend on his powers. He'd already worked out that the Curator's powers worked better on ghosts than humans. So it would come down to careful planning and execution. What he hated about that was the cold, hard fact that he could never do it alone. He would need others. He would need Danny.

"Come on," Vlad growled down to Danny as he briskly walked toward the door. This time, though, his voice held less venom. "Let's go see the Curator's menagerie of 'special' people." The man couldn't keep the disgust out of his voice.

Danny stared after Vlad for a moment, eyebrows drawn deeply together. "Menagerie?" he mumbled under his breath. He had no idea what that word meant, and he didn't really want to go wherever that door led with Vlad. But what choice did he really have? He was completely powerless right now. He and Vlad were at the mercy of the Curator. The boy hated to admit it, but it was definitely true. He and Vlad were gonna have to work together to get out of this.

Swallowing hard at the thought, Danny glanced warily back at the Curator. The ghost was watching him, and he smiled softly when their eyes connected. "Go on, Mr. Fenton," he said gently, as if talking to a nervous house pet. He waved a hand for him to follow Vlad. "Go make some friends. I'm sure the others will be ecstatic to see you. Go on now."

Danny frowned nervously, unsure of how to respond to that. He turned quickly on his heel and hurried after Vlad. As much as he despised Vlad, the man was the only person he could trust right now.

Without a single glance at the Curator, Vlad marched through the doorway into the room beyond. Once there, he stopped abruptly to take in the sight as Danny caught up beside him. The first impression he had of the room was that of a prison yard. The room was big enough to fit a few small buildings in it that dotted one area. Another section was partitioned off for playing sports like basketball and soccer. Another area held picnic tables for dining. The springy floor was made up of ground up rubber pieces sprayed green or brown as if to replicate dirt from the real world.

Despite the efforts to make the room seem open and bright, Vlad still saw all the little details that made the place feel like a prison. Nothing went unnoticed. To the transparent human forms playing a round of basketball in the distance, and to the silent but watchful video cameras installed all over the walls and ceilings. It was all so very fake.

Vlad glanced down to Danny, making a snap decision right then and there. "I won't even ask you if you want to escape, Danny," he said quietly under his breath. Though he couldn't see microphones, he still didn't trust his eyes enough to throw the notion away. "To do that, first we must stay together. Understand?"

Danny rubbed his upper arm as he warily looked around the room. He almost couldn't believe all of this was happening to him. Sure, he'd been through some weird stuff since he'd gotten his ghost powers, but this took the cake. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard the door to their display case close behind him, and he shuddered a little. This was all so surreal.

The boy's eyes rose to meet Vlad's when the man spoke to him. He knew that the guy was planning something. He could just tell by that nefarious glint in his eyes. It was the look he had, unfortunately, seen way too many times in the past. Danny's fists instinctively clenched when he recognized it.

Fighting down his rising anxiety, Danny looked away from Vlad and nodded a little. "Yeah, sure," he agreed softly. He couldn't help but notice that a lot of the people here were actually ghosts. Hadn't the Curator said there were other humans here?

Danny glanced back up at Vlad and arched an eyebrow. "I don't know about you, but I wasn't actually planning on running away from you...yet, anyway. We'll see how that goes," he stated sarcastically.

Expressing a small, sly smile, Vlad said as he scanned the area once more, "Like you'll be able to escape without my help. It's a miracle you find a way out of your room when you wake up each morning."

As he said these words, a person finally caught his eye. She was definitely human because she was daintily nibbling a biscuit as she sprawled herself out on a picnic table as if she was a religious san bather there to worship the UV rays. The only problem: there wasn't a sun. The girl's age looked to be around 20, though Vlad knew she probably pretended and liked to be thought as someone who was older. She was tall, athletic, smooth skinned, blue eyed, and an all round knockout, blonde hair bombshell.

Besides the fact she was human and would probably agree to help them escape, that wasn't the only reason why Vlad wanted to talk to her. He had caught the fleeting, interested glance the girl had artfully given them, as if daring the two newcomers to come closer but still keeping her cold and collected air about her. There was something cunning to the girl that Vlad instantly disliked about her, and yet he couldn't help but notice that they may need her.

"Let's talk to that girl over there," Vlad said to Danny. He didn't wait for an answer as he began to walk over to the deserted picnic tables where she laid alone.

Before Danny's brain could actually decipher Vlad's insult, the man had already started walking away from him. The boy glared at his back and indignantly yelled, "Hey!" The man paid him no mind and continued heading in the direction of the picnic tables. Grumbling incoherent complaints under his breath, Danny unwillingly followed. He had a feeling that Vlad just couldn't help himself when it came to insulting him.

Danny's anger quickly left him when he caught up to Vlad and saw the human girl that he had mentioned. She was definitely a lot older than him. That was what he noticed first. What he noticed second was the fact that this girl rivaled Paulina in looks. Actually, she might even have been better looking than Paulina.

The teen swallowed a little, feeling his cheeks redden slightly when the girl's eyes met his. She looked so extremely bored. Not to mention, highly unimpressed. He prayed that he wouldn't embarrass himself as he said, "H-hey! Hi, I'm Danny...Danny Fenton."

When the girl didn't respond, Danny rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled a little. "Uh...so you're human, too. That's...cool."

_Even in some creepy museum in the Ghost Zone I can't talk to girls_, Danny caught himself thinking as he held his awkward smile. _At least Tuck isn't here to see this_.

Vlad had been planning on keeping his eyes on the girl to evaluate her properly, but he hadn't planned on Danny's blundering hormones getting in the way. Look of astonishment coming over his face, Vlad looked down at Danny uncomprehendingly. "Stop," he commanded the teen. "Stop before you hurt yourself."

Returning his attention to the girl, Vlad saw that she was already watching him with subtle intrigue. It caught him a little off guard, but he didn't let it get in the way as he introduced himself. "Danny and I are the new _attraction_ to the museum," Vlad told her. "Naturally, we have questions. We'd like it if you could answer some of them."

"Who are you?" the girl asked, thrusting her chin up a little.

"Vlad Masters."

"The millionaire from Wisconsin," the girl stated, suddenly satisfied. She gave a nasty smile while pointing to Danny. "Nice. Is pipsqueak your kid?"

"No," Vlad answered flatly. "And you failed to mention your name."

"Melody," she said, leaning back on the palms of her hands to give herself more room to study them better. "Melody Hart. So why are you two paired up? Not like this kid has any money, or I'm sure I would have noticed him."

Danny's awkwardness suddenly dissipated when the girl mentioned him being Vlad's kid. His expression twisted with disgust, and he hunched his shoulders as he groaned, "_Gross_. I just got mistaken for your son." He looked up at Vlad, dramatically holding a hand to his stomach as if he felt sick. "I am so lucky I didn't eat dinner yet or I would have totally just barfed on your shoes."

Flashing a fast, mean smirk at the man, Danny looked back at the girl and conspiratorially whispered, "It's my awesome personality, of course. The Curator wanted to balance out Vlad's extremely crappy one, and I was the only solution."

He placed his hands on his hips and grinned proudly to himself. It was about time he got back at Vlad for all his jerky comments.

"Oh, _obviously_," Melody shot back sarcastically before Vlad could even open his mouth to respond to Danny's comment. Returning her attention to Vlad, she asked with a smile that was too vicious for her age, "Is he usually this insufferable?"

For a second, Vlad didn't know how to respond. Though he liked the girl's style, he wasn't about to give her any acknowledgement on the matter. There was something very dangerous about the young lady that he just couldn't place his finger on at the moment.

Remaining emotionlessly stern, Vlad answered, "Sometimes. Admittedly, he has his brighter moments. Now, can you tell us how this facility works?"

As if a switch had been flicked inside her, Melody suddenly lost all interest in the two. "Simple," she said tersely, giving a bored sigh. "The Collector keeps all of us in here all day. Those small houses have beds for when you want to sleep. Museum workers serve the humans food here at the tables three times a day. Dinner will start soon, by the way. Besides that, you stay in your display case all day and entertain the guests. The end."

Danny's smile faltered, and he stared back at Melody with horror encroaching on his expression. _Oh no...I just discovered the female version of Vlad. This can't be happening. This totally can't be happening._ The boy slapped a hand to his forehead and drug it down his face as his shoulders slumped again. Why was his luck so terribly bad?

Just as he opened his mouth to ask a question, he froze when he felt strong arms wrap around him and pull him into a tight hug. Danny's mind went blank as he twisted his head around to stare at whoever the heck could possibly be hugging him at a time like this.

From what he could see, though that wasn't a lot due to his position, a lean black man with a bald head and odd looking goatee was currently squeezing the life out of him with his eyes clenched tightly shut. "Um...sir?" the teen muttered, feeling highly uncomfortable as he squirmed to get out of the man's grasp. "Hello? Sir? Stop hugging me!"

Danny got no response from the man, and he didn't look like he was going to let go anytime soon. The boy turned his head to stare at Melody and Vlad as he yelped, "Explanation please!"

"Let the dude hug it out, shrimpy. He's harmless...unless you have something expensive on your person. But that's another story," Melody said, expressing a fleeting smile. The man's bizarre hugging ritual seemed to loosen her up a little. "Ryder always hugs someone when he gets out of the display case. Thankfully, it wasn't me today. Lucky you, kid. You get to smell like hobo for another week."

_"Exciting,"_ both Melody and Vlad said sarcastically at the same time. They paused, looking at each other with scowls on their faces.

Danny stared at Melody and Vlad, looking sick to his stomach. "You two have _got_ to stop doing that," was his muttered, first response. One Vlad was bad enough, but two of them? One being a really hot looking girl? No thanks. No thanks times a billion.

"Don't do that again," Vlad demanded sternly.

"Whatever," Melody growled back. She didn't back down from his narrowed stare until she felt satisfied enough that she had established her defiance with the man. Releasing a cold smile, she looked away from Vlad and told Ryder with a wave of her hand, "Come on, Ryder. Enough is enough. You're starting to scare the newbies."

Melody's voice seemed to shake Ryder out of whatever weird trance he was in, and his eyes snapped open as he released Danny. A brilliant grin shot to his face as he answered her with a dramatic wave of his hand, "Scent of a man, Mel. I can understand if you haven't smelled it before being who you are: The Ice Queen."

It took a moment for the burn to sink into Danny's mind and when it did, he balked up at Ryder. Had the man really just insulted Melody? He must have been extremely brave...or extremely stupid. The man caught the boy's stare, and he winked at him as he leapt nimbly atop the bench of the picnic table Melody sat on.

"I'm Ryder Walker!" he declared, holding his arms out wide. His voice rang loudly throughout the entire room, but most of the ghosts didn't even look. They were used to his theatrics by now. "Thief Extraordinary! It's a pleasure for you to meet me!" He placed his large hands onto his thin waist and posed as he looked between Danny and Vlad. It was like he was waiting for them to say something.

Danny could only laugh at hearing the man's name. "Ryder Walker?" he said to himself, chuckling at the silliness of the name. He'd never heard one like that before. It sounded like he'd just made the name up, to be honest.

_Surely, he's joking,_ Vlad thought as he eyed Ryder with a dubious raised eyebrow. When he caught Melody's eye roll, though, he suspected he might actually be wrong.

"Stop prancing around like you're a pompous, airhead fairy tale prince, Ryder. You're embarrassing yourself," Melody growled, but some of her tone suggested she was merely teasing the man despite the Ice Queen comment. If anything, she took a little pride in being notoriously cold, beautiful, and powerful.

Ryder could only smile at Melody's response, but he remained standing on the bench of the table so that he could peer down at Danny and Vlad. His blue eyes were definitely not as cunning as Melody's, but they held a sharp edge, as if he was keeping an important secret. However, Danny had a really hard time taking the guy seriously when he was grinning the way he was. He looked like a ten-year-old trapped in a grown man's body.

"Me? Embarrass myself? Impossible!" Ryder crowed, tossing his head back to laugh boisterously at the ceiling. He stopped laughing quite suddenly and stared intently down at Danny as he pointed a finger at him. "You! What's your name?"

The teen couldn't stop himself from laughing again as he shook his head. Was this guy being serious? "Danny Fenton," he answered with a grin.

Ryder nodded and rubbed a hand against his goatee. "Danny...I like that. Good name!" he declared before pointing his steady finger at Vlad. "And you! State your name! As the prince of this museum, I demand to know my subject's name!"

Vlad folded his arms and gave Ryder a scathing glare, refusing to acknowledge a man who was so far detached from reality. Recognizing his denial, Melody flashed the man a cruel smile while answering for him.

"His name is Vlad Masters," she told Ryder. "You know. The _millionaire_. Mmm. Fancy that, right?"

When her gaze returned to Vlad's, the man was giving her a black, threatening look that fully warned her to back off before she got hurt. Melody calmly watched him, taking no heed. She was fully prepared to battle the man for dominance, but she wouldn't have been so confident if she knew his other ghostly side.

Ryder froze when he heard Vlad's name. His eyes widened, and he stared quickly between both Melody and Vlad. "Vlad Masters?" he said both eyebrows rising comically high. There was an expression on his face that Danny was having a really hard time placing. It looked like Ryder was caught somewhere between horror, excitement, and intrigue. It all added up to make one, epically weird face.

"Mayor of Amity Park, Vlad Masters," Danny piped up just for the sole purpose of ganging up against Vlad. He raised his head and sent the man an innocent smile when he glared down at him.

Ryder's expression finally cracked as his overly happy grin returned, and he let out a laugh. "Well ain't this a coink-i-dink," he mused, looking thoughtful. His eyes were locked with Vlad's as he plopped himself onto his butt and reclined back against the table. He tilted his head back and looked at the upside-down Melody as he asked cheekily, "So why're they here, ya think? Can't possibly be for anything as talented and amazing as me, right?"

Tilting her head to the side in a very cute fashion, Melody pretended to wonder with Ryder. "Well, shorty over here doesn't seem to be making any profits," she said. "Unless I've been away from the real world for too long and cheap jeans and bland T-shirts have suddenly become the popular and expensive fashion style (which I highly doubt), I'm afraid we'll have to throw away the notion that they're rich, business geniuses. It's hard to tell why they're so important."

Vlad quickly noticed how Melody subtly changed her attitude from when she was addressing him and Danny compared to when she interacted with Ryder. To a small, certain extent, she was more open and free with him. Obviously, the two were an unlikely set of friends. He wondered how that could have happened. Melody seemed too cold and intelligent to harbor any kind feelings toward someone so loony and free-spirited. Though Vlad had to admit that Ryder was more savvy than he first led on.

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. He didn't like how Melody kept cracking on his obvious lack of wealth. Sure, he wasn't rich, but it's not like he was poor, either! His parents did ok considering their weird jobs.

"I still say it was because of our obvious charisma and charm," Danny said in mock seriousness. He paused before adding sourly, "And I'm not short! I'm tall for my age...sorta."

Ryder chuckled in amusement and pointed back at Danny. "Don't lie to yourself, kid. You're a shrimp," he stated honestly and nodded. He obviously didn't think his comment was hurtful, just straightforward. Ryder's expression suddenly brightened as he perked up a bit. "Ooh, ooh! What if he's, like, a teen spy or something! Young James Bond!" he exclaimed, eyes alight with inspiration. The man gestured to Vlad as he quickly added, "And he's Danny's grumpy mentor who helps him fight evil under the disguise of a billionaire..."

Ryder trailed off for a moment before his eyes widened further as he whispered, "What if they're Batman and Robin?" He stared up at Vlad and seriously questioned, "Are you the Night or Vengeance?"

Never in his life had he ever been compared to Batman. This ridiculous notion actually made Vlad speechless for a few seconds. Mind blank of all possible logical or sarcastic comebacks, Vlad simply stared at Ryder in complete wonder. Either the man had been dropped on his head too many times when he was a child, or he was very good at keeping a straight face.

Danny was stuck in the same speechless boat as Vlad. He couldn't tell if he was still annoyed by Melody's rudeness or amused by Ryder's seriously-stated comment about Vlad being Batman. The man had kept a perfectly serious face the entire time he'd spoken.

_Was he even joking_...? Danny thought in confusion.

Melody, on the other hand, couldn't keep in her laughter. She burst out in a sweet-sounding giggle that totally betrayed her frosty side. "I can totally see it!" she said in between fits of giggles. "Masters even has the same scowl. See? See! Gawd, it's perfect! And I'm sure pipsqueak has a secret flamboyant side to him. You're a genius, Ryder."

Shaking his head quickly, Danny shot a frown at Melody and grumbled, "My name's Danny. Dan-ny." The teen used his hands for emphasis as he slowly said his name. He saw Ryder's mouth open, and he glared at him as he swiftly said, "_Not_ Robin. I don't wear colorful spandex." _At least, not the colorful kind_, he silently added.

By the grins Melody and Ryder were shooting him, Danny had a feeling he wasn't making much progress in convincing them. The boy blew out a heavy sigh and demanded of Melody, "Why're you here, then? If Ryder's a thief, what do you do?" He lowered his voice as he mumbled, "_Besides_ try to kill people with frostbite that is."

At this question, Melody quickly lost her smile and giggles, reverting swiftly to her cold posture and expression. Vlad studied her transformation with interest. Melody debated about answering for a second before saying evenly, "I'm a thief too. Ryder and I are a pair at this museum, like you two. Individually, we've stolen more than anyone currently alive...though our methods are very different from each other. We didn't know each other until we were brought here."

Danny fell silent at actually receiving an answer to his question. All he could do was stare at Melody for several moments before looking up to Vlad in surprise. He couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but he could only guess he was just as shocked. Melody did _not_ look like the thief type. She looked more like the snooty, celebrity type.

Ryder took the opportunity to lean forward and place his elbows on his knees as he spread his hands. "We're the best of the best, boys," he said, raising an eyebrow smoothly. The man knew that this was his chance to brag, and he went for it. He did love to brag. "_I_ have personally stolen more priceless objects than Catwoman herself! Sorry, Batman." He paused to wink at Vlad as if sharing a secret with the man.

The thief jumped nimbly back to his feet and poised on the bench of the table again. "You name it, I've stolen it," he boasted, walking from one end of the bench to the other and back again. "Paintings, statues, gold bars, laser beams! Been there, done that!" Ryder laughed again, shaking his head as he added under his breath, "So ironic that I'm now a display in a museum. The irony, Batman. I've stolen so many things from museums and now _I'm_ the item to be stolen! Ha! It's almost poetic justice, wouldn't ya say?"

"I highly doubt that you've stolen all that," Vlad said, placing his hands on his hips. "And will you stop calling me Batman? The joke it getting old."

"Believe it or not, _Batman_," Melody said, purposefully using the new nickname with some relish, "but Ryder and I _are_ the best. Sure, he's unorthodox at times, but Ryder knows how to get in and get out without leaving a trace. He's never been caught...until now. It's an impressive skill."

"Are you sure standing up for the loony man is a wise choice?" Vlad asked her, very curious to hear her answer.

Flipping her blonde hair behind her shoulder, Melody smiled and simply said, "In life you choose your tools. Pushing obnoxious personality aside, Ryder is a wise tool to have on my side. Not so sure about shorty over here for you, though. He seems...flimsy."

"Danny is stronger than you think," Vlad stated tersely.

_Whoa...wait a minute_. Danny's eyebrows furrowed deeply as he stared up at Vlad. The man had totally just defended him. _He was being serious, too. Man, could this day possibly get any weirder? Crap, why'd I think that?_

"Mmm. Sure," Melody said with a face that clearly showed disbelief. All she saw was a middle-class, average-intelligence, punk teenager. She briefly wondered how him and Vlad knew each other and what the boy could possibly offer according to strength or talent that would land him in the museum.

The boy cleared his throat as he forced his eyes to connect with Melody's. He didn't understand why, but he felt the need to prove himself to her. She might've been cold-hearted and Vlad-like, but, in the end, that made her someone he wanted on his side right now. Rather he liked it or not, he was going to have to win the respect of both Ryder and Melody if he and Vlad wanted to get out of this situation. They needed whatever help they could get. Not to mention...it wasn't right of the Curator to keep them all here where they didn't belong.

"I've been through more than you know," Danny said quietly yet firmly. His expression was as serious as he could make it as his eyes slowly drifted from Melody to Ryder. "I'm not rich, and I'm not a genius, and I might possibly be vertically challenged, but I've seen and done more in fifteen years than you have in your entire life."

His nerves were starting to get to him as he took a shallow breath and forced himself to finish. "Trust me, I'm someone you want on your side." Danny gave a small smile as he added, "And so is Batman."

Ryder's smirk grew into a grin as he listened to the boy's speech. His eyes silently drifted to Melody, and he arched an eyebrow questioningly at her. "Ya gotta admit, kid's got chops," the man said reasonably. He glanced back at Vlad and chuckled. "Loony's a mean word, Mr. Masters. I prefer eccentric...or brilliant...or fantastic. You choose."

"I stand corrected," Vlad said with a small grin of amusement. "The proper word I was looking for was non compos mantis. Excuse my rudeness, Mr. Walker."

Melody grinned at the confused expression on Ryder's face, but she quickly dashed the expression away as she looked down at Danny. "Getting back to the main subject," she said. "I'm still not buying it. You want me to believe you can do anything worthwhile, kid, then prove it. Why are you and Masters here? Why would the Collector give a crap about you? You two share something in common that has got to be meaningful. I want to know what that something is, and I'm not trusting either of you two until I know."

Danny would have laughed at the exchange between the two men if he hadn't been so focused on Melody. She meant what she said. If he didn't show her the true reason for why he and Vlad were there, she wasn't gonna help them. Then they'd all be stuck in this museum forever. Danny couldn't risk that. His friends were probably worried sick over him by now, and it was only a matter of time before his parents found out he was missing.

The thought of his mom and dad worrying over him made guilt burn in the boy's stomach. He had to make a split decision. He couldn't think about this, and he couldn't allow Vlad to stop him from doing it.

"Ok then..." Danny muttered as he closed his eyes. He reached inside himself for the cool comfort of his ghost half and gripped it firmly before yanking it to the surface. A bright flash of light signified his transformation and, within moments, Danny Phantom stood before the group. His green eyes burned into Melody's as he asked, "Meaningful enough?"

Melody didn't move, say, or express anything for a good minute. She just kept staring at Danny as if he was...well, a ghost. It was her turn to be speechless that day. The boy was Danny _Phantom_! She almost couldn't believe it, she was so shocked. And yet here he was! He had transformed from a human into a ghost right before her very eyes. There was no more clear proof than that.

"Danny Phantom," Melody finally stated, some astonishment still in her voice. Then, as her brain clicked back into its proper place, a devious smirk came upon her features. "_Da-amn_," she exclaimed. "I never would have guessed." Turning her eyes to Vlad, she asked, "You a half ghost superhero too? Or you really _are_ Batman?"

Glancing briefly to Danny, Vlad decided it was time to reveal himself too. It was all inevitable. Melody and Ryder had to know what him and Danny were capable of when they formed plans to escape in the future. So with a burst of impressive black rings, Vlad turned ghost too.

"No," Vlad told Melody with an evil, superior smile, "I'm not a superhero. Not at all." And with silent delight, Vlad noticed Melody swallow with fear.

Ryder had managed to keep his balance on the bench when he saw Danny's transformation, but seeing Vlad's immediately after made him lose it. He fell onto the table beside Melody with a surprised curse, his wide eyes locked on Vlad's new intimidating form. Danny didn't seem so scary looking because he still held a hint of his human form, but Vlad did not. There was something extremely creepy about the blue skin and fangs to Ryder.

"How the hell you get your hair to do that?" Ryder demanded of Vlad, his voice downright shocked but equally impressed. After a moment, he sat up a bit, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. He'd heard what Vlad had to say about not being a hero. That could mean only one thing.

Ryder pointed at Vlad and suspiciously asked, "You're not a vampire then, are you?"

Danny held a hand over his mouth to force back his chuckles when he heard Ryder's first reaction. He was starting to realize that, no matter the situation, Ryder would have something whacky to say. It was almost refreshing. He'd finally found someone who wasn't afraid to drive Vlad up the wall.

Turning back into human form, Vlad scowled at Melody as if warning her to put a leash on her tool before Ryder seriously hurt himself. The man was getting into a foul mood. First the surprise attack from Danny during dinner, then being kidnapped by a random ghost, waking up inside a Ghost Zone museum, and now being blatantly insulted by a crazy stranger. Vlad wasn't about to take it anymore.

Frowning over at her friend, Melody said sternly, "It's not funny anymore, Ryder."

"Indeed," Vlad growled. And just to make sure Ryder got the picture, Vlad told him with crisp formality, "Despite all appearances, Mr. Walker, I'm not a vampire, and I don't appreciate being called one."

Ryder frowned again when he heard the tone of Melody's voice. She sounded mean, as usual, but he could detect the hidden unease there. Nothing scared Mel, but he knew something was making her anxious. He glared up at Vlad as he realized that _he_ was the source of his friend's discomfort.

Ryder didn't like that. He didn't like that one bit.

Somehow, Danny could tell by Ryder's expression that he was about to say something that would further tick Vlad off. Much like Ryder, he knew that Vlad was reaching his limit for being annoyed today. It was only a matter of time before he snapped like a twig. And Danny had no idea what the man would do when he finally did lose it. He was almost positive that he didn't want to know or have Melody and Ryder find out firsthand.

Expression serious, Danny shook his head at Ryder, silently telling him to stay quiet. Unfortunately, Ryder didn't take well to people telling him what to do...or warning him about his impending demise.

The thief crossed his arms over his chest, snide smiling sliding back to his face as he met Vlad's eyes. "That's what a real vampire would want me to think. I'm on to your tricks." Ryder's grin widened, and the childlike sparkle returned to his eyes as he finished, "Hey, vampires are really popular nowadays, I hear. Isn't being called one, like, a compliment?"

"That's it," Vlad growled, once again his patience snapping. As he took a step forward, his fists burst into ectoplasm flames. He didn't even get to take two steps forward to close the gap between him and Ryder before he was cut short by Melody physically butting in. She was on her feet in two seconds, placing herself boldly between her friend and Vlad. The icy look in her eyes was just as menacing as Vlad's.

"He was joking, Masters," Melody calmly said.

"I'm not concerned if he was playing around or not," Vlad spat back. "I don't tolerate insults from deranged men I hardly know. Now step aside."

"So you can do what?" Melody said with a mock laugh. "Beat him up like you're the schoolyard bully? What are we? Five?"

"Move."

"You're pathetic," Melody sneered, but she stepped away anyways. She wasn't about to get hurt for something Ryder shouldn't have said in the first place.

But by this time Vlad's anger had dissipated a little. Though he really wanted to cause Ryder some pain for goading him, Vlad realized it wouldn't be worth it. He needed these two if he was going to escape. Beating up Ryder wouldn't ever help his case. So it was time to once again swallow his pride and anger and do the smart thing.

Composing himself, Vlad cut off his power flow to his hands, sighed while running a hand through his hair, and stood back with his hands on his hips. "Don't provoke me again, Mr. Walker," he told Ryder. "Batman I can tolerate," he said with a sly smile, "But being compared to a ditzy teenage girl's fantasy boyfriend is something I won't allow."

Ryder slowly unclenched his fists when Vlad stepped away from him. Though it wasn't first apparent, he'd been just as willing as Vlad to attack. The subtle tightness of his muscles disappeared, and he leaned back on the table. His eyes were locked on the ectoplasmic energy that had just been sucked back into Vlad's hands like it had never even been there.

"Whoa," the man whispered, creeped out but completely fascinated at the same time. He wasn't sure what that energy could've done to him, but it was still frickin' cool. Ryder's eyes flicked up to meet Vlad's and, after receiving a glare from Melody, he saluted with a grin. "Whatever you say, Batman. Clear as crystal. Same wavelength, same page, same boat." He snapped his fingers on his right hand and finished, "Gotcha."

Danny released a tight breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. That had been close. Way too close. He knew enough about Vlad to know that it was probably killing the man being unable to hurt Ryder like he so obviously wanted to.

_I've gotta keep him calm somehow_, the boy thought, pensively biting the inside of his cheek. _Or maybe try and keep Ryder away from Vlad...Either way, can't let them spend too much time alone together._

Danny changed back into his human form as he cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, uh, when's dinner?" he asked with a hopeful looking smile.

ML: Since we've started writing, I've begun to notice a pattern…all my even chapter are super long! Like, you have no idea, guys! -laughs- I mean, I don't mind so much, but it's a lot of editing for poor little me, and I like to complain of course. Complaining is fun! But if you guys don't mind the length, that's ok with us. The chapters very between short and long ones so just let us know which one you like best.

Anyway! Those lovely OC's you see before you are, well, lovely in my opinion. At first, me and Pix were gonna keep it a secret as to who wrote for who, but I think it'll be more fun if you guys know who belongs to who. So! The delightful ray of sunshine known as Melody is the genius of your very own Pixiegirl, and the normal-human-behavior challenged Ryder is a concoction of my odd mind. We're talented little buggers, aren't we?

One big thing to mention, Pix will be the one answering reviews unless you specifically ask me a question that you would like me to answer. It's just easier on both of us, really. But if ya do want me to answer something, I'll gladly do so!

Well, hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Hope to see ya'll next update! Until then!


	3. Chapter 3 Questionable Dinning

A/N: Pix here again! I have to say, I've really been enjoy the responses ML and I have been receiving from you readers! Lots of positive stuff! Nice, little confidence boosters for our week as we continue to write. So thanks for everyone who has reviewed! Sorry if I don't respond right away or can't get to you. College life is busy. Besides that, not much to say except enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Yeah. We don't own any of the Danny Phantom characters. Ryder, Melody, and the Collector are ours, though. So no touchy.

Previously In The Collector: It was the hour of introductions for Danny and Vlad as they were finally confronted with their kidnapper, a Ghost Zone museum curator with the power to make people obey his verbal commands. The ghost has brought Danny and Vlad to his museum to be on display. Yeah. Creepy. We meant to do that. To the halfas' dismay, their new roomies are a pair of thieves: the fabulously dramatic and child-like Ryder Walker and the notoriously Ice Queen beauty Melody Hart. Oh, they're all just gonna love each other.

Chapter 3 Questionable Dinning

_"So, uh, when's dinner?"_

Flashing a small, grateful smile, Melody took ahold of the subject change with relief. She stood up on the table's bench and looked over her shoulder at a small window in a nearby corner that had opened while they had been talking. Dinner had arrived, it seemed.

"Dinner is now," Melody said as she hopped off the bench and walked over to the window without looking at any of the boys. Though she walked with her usual confidence, Melody's hidden face showed unease.

That had been a close one. The addition of Danny and Vlad would help her and Ryder to finally escape the museum if they played their cards right, but she knew things would now be getting very dangerous. Vlad wasn't a man she wanted to cross. Not now; not ever. She would have to be at the top of her game now.

As she pondered this, Melody's worry ebbed away. It was replaced with a small form of excitement. Melody loved a challenge. That's what got her kidnapped in the first place. And keeping the dysfunctional group of them together without killing each other while plotting an escape from a bizarre spirit world would be the ultimate challenge of her life. It was something to get a bit thrilled about.

Danny watched Melody skip away as if the girl hadn't realized Vlad had just been about to kill Ryder and she didn't have a care in the world. His bafflement only increased when Ryder smiled giddily and hopped off the table to quickly follow after Melody. Apparently, dinner time meant happy time here.

Just before Melody reached the food, Ryder appeared at her side. He towered over the girl, but lowered his head a bit so that she could hear him whisper, "Did you see his hands, Mel? That glow? What was that?" His voice held a serious edge to it, and his blue eyes were steely.

While the two thieves got their food, Danny glanced up at Vlad as the two hurried to retrieve their food, and he frowned a little bit. "Would it kill you to try and act like you're a nice guy, Vlad?" Danny asked, sounding truly curious. He knew Vlad didn't like getting insulted, but they really needed Melody's and Ryder's help. The least the man could do was pretend to have a compassionate bone in his body.

Vlad mulled Danny's question over in his head before answering with his own question, "Why bother pretending? I don't have to make the two like me, per say, Daniel. I just have to win some of their respect. I'm not here to make friends."

On second thought, though, Vlad saw Danny's point. Coming in with fists blazing and dark attitude was obviously not working well. Sure, it established Vlad's dominance and power, but that could only get him so far. He'd have to switch tactics if he was going to win the pair over.

Before they got into line, Vlad slowed his pace so he could say more quietly to the teen, "But if it's nice they want, I can play their game." His sly smirk was back as he added, "I can be nice. Not good, but nice."

Meanwhile, Melody and Ryder had gotten their trays and were having lumps of mysterious oatmeal-like paste being dribbled onto their plates. Keeping her voice in a whisper like her friend's, Melody said, "I don't know. Some kind of ectoplasm or something. I'm not an expert on ghosts. But that man is smart and powerful, Ryder. I'd be careful about which of his buttons you press."

From the few months of being stuck with Ryder, Melody had learned not to tell the man what to do. It led to disastrous results. She gave out warnings and advice, but she could only hope he'd take heed of them.

At the end of the lineup for food, Danny grimaced at the grin Vlad sent him. He quickly reached out to accept his tray once Melody and Ryder had turned to head back to the table. "Jeez, Vlad," the teen grumbled under his breath. "You even make trying to be nice creepy. You think that's a genetic thing or- what the heck is this stuff?"

The half-ghost peered down at the food on his tray, his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what exactly it was. "Is that...is that paste?" he asked of no one in particular as he jabbed his plastic spoon into the mush. Danny's expression twisted with disgust at the nasty _splorking_ sound the food substance made.

Averting his eyes from the "food," Danny peered back up at Vlad and deadpanned, "I don't think you're gonna fool anyone with a 'nice' act now that I think about it. Maybe you should just try being less, I dunno, mean?" The boy smirked a little and sarcastically added, "A smile goes a mile, y'know?"

Vlad stared at his food for a second as if he hadn't heard any of what Danny had said. Submitting to defeat, the man picked up his tray with a look of disgust and began to walk back to the picnic tables again with Danny. Along the way, he said half seriously, "I'm afraid if I smile, I'll just make that creepy too. And while we're on the subject, I assure you that I can be polite and genial or 'less mean' in your words. But to win these two over, the act will need more finesse. It's a challenge, but it's not too hard. Humans are easy to manipulate if you know what motivates them and how they work."

Only when Melody and Ryder sat down at their table did Ryder dare to speak again. He shoveled a spoonful of his mystery mush into his mouth and chewed it vigorously, hoping to get it down as quickly as possible. Once he had, he said innocently, "I just wanted to see what he could do. This whole ghostly world thing still doesn't make any sense. Now there's half ghost people runnin' around."

He took several more gulps of food before he grinned a little and muttered, "Don't you worry, Miss Frost. I'll win Batman over. I can do anything."

Melody was just rolling her eyes in slightly amused irritation when Vlad and Danny sat down across from her and Ryder. Grimacing as he set his tray down, Vlad asked the two, "What is this that we're eating?"

Ryder, taking advice from Melody to play nice, glanced up, his cheeks bulging. He painfully swallowed before taking a gasping breath of air and saying, "Food...I think." He gave Danny a pitying glance when the boy attempted to take a bite from the stuff on his tray and gagged loudly at the horrid taste. "The Collector said he made it just for us. It's full of nutrients and vitamins for healthy humans. I'm paraphrasing, of course. His explanation was way longer with words I can't even pronounce."

Danny peered down at the food, stomach roiling in anger at him for actually trying to eat the stuff. It tasted awful! Even worse than cafeteria food! And that was saying something.

"Do they always serve this junk?" the boy asked, jabbing his spoon into the mush some more out of spite. He was still partly convinced that the food would come to life on his tray and try to murder him. It could totally happen the way his day was going.

"Yep!" Ryder cheerfully replied with his mouth full. He smiled as he said, "Sometimes it glows!" The man then turned his sights onto Vlad and pointed at the man with his mush covered spoon. "Go ahead and try some, Vladster. It's mm-mm good."

"Doubtful," Vlad muttered more to himself than to the man, painfully ignoring the new nickname. Where the man came up with such horrible, obnoxious names, Vlad would never know. He supposed it was a gift. A very evil gift.

Vlad's reaction to the food was similar to Danny's. He swallowed once, failed with a pained grimace, tried again, and somehow prevailed. Vlad had eaten a lot of peculiar things during his many travels over the years, but this meal took the cake. It was just plain awful, and Vlad didn't know if he could stomach another bite.

Bravely, Vlad spooned another bit and looked at it wearily as he debated about another go. Did he really want to torture himself again? He caught Melody's gaze then. She was blandly watching him as if she was observing a tennis match or something else as equally monotonous.

"You get used to it," she finally told him. "It never tastes better, but you learn to deal."

"Lovely," Vlad said before eating the second spoonful. This time it went down more easily. Taking a break from the food, Vlad asked, "What do you two know about this Curator? I've noticed you call him the Collector instead. I guess the second term suits him better."

Ryder was impressed. Vlad had managed to take two bites of food from his tray. The man grinned as he replied, "It's a perfect name, but he doesn't like it very much. I wouldn't suggest sayin' it to his face. He gets a little, uh, y'know... what's the word?"

"Moody?" Danny guessed, half-heartedly pushing his gunk around his tray. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could eat without puking.

Ryder jabbed his sticky spoon at the boy and laughed happily. "Yes! That! Perfect word right there, shrimpo," he congratulated the teen before pulling his eyes back to Vlad. He didn't catch Danny's eye roll as he smirked across the table at Vlad.

"All I know is that he takes real good care of us here..." Ryder glanced down at the food and shrugged. "All things considered, that is. It's kinda like he wants us to be happy here. The other ghosts seem to like it well enough, but I guess it helps that they're dead and don't gotta eat this stuff." The man shrugged again and took another pained bite of food. "He's gotta medical wing and everything if ya get hurt. Makes sense that he'd want his displays in top condition, right?"

Ryder propped an elbow on the table and leaned his chin on his hand as he nudged Melody in the arm with his free hand. "You're the genius. You fill 'em in," he told her with a grin.

Melody gave Ryder a frosty glare, but she swallowed her food and told them what she knew anyways. "You guys probably know about this spirit world better than we do, you two being half ghosts and all, but all I can say is that this facility isn't new. I say it's been around for some time now."

"It's called the Ghost Zone," Vlad corrected her. "And, yes, we do know of it. Unfortunately, it's very big...and chaotic; very hard to find and remember where anything is even if you have a map. There are a few places and ghosts I know of in here, but I've never heard about this place or its ghost, which is odd considering he's quite powerful. So why do you believe it's more than a few years old?"

"Because I've seen the way the ghosts in here and the ones who view us react," Melody answered. "They all know the system. Some of the newer ghosts are even proud to be here, like it's some form of honor to be displayed in here. That doesn't happen unless they know a lot about this place and its curator. But having important ghosts in his collection doesn't seem to satisfy the Collector anymore. He wanted more. So you can guess what he did."

"He's now targeting humans, then," Vlad said in deep thought. "If it's just a ghost museum, what do humans care? They don't know about it, of course. That's why he hasn't made an impact in the human world."

"Precisely," Melody said with a grim smile. "And that's why he went after Ryder and I first. We're thieves. Nobody is going to miss us or try to find us because we already live under the radar."

"Then why kidnap Danny and I?" Vlad thought aloud. "We'll sure be missed. I'm a mayor and he's a superhero. People will notice that we're gone."

This seemed to confuse Melody just as much as it did Vlad. After swallowing another bite, Melody shrugged and said, "I guess you two were really important, then. You guys were worth the risk."

Danny found himself getting more and more creeped out the longer Vlad and Melody talked. Those two had way too much in common. His eyes drifted to Ryder who was obliviously chewing on his dinner as if it was a tasty cheeseburger instead of mystery mush.

_Crud...does that mean I'm like Ryder?_ the boy thought as he grimaced. Shaking his head quickly, Danny decided to throw in his two cents just to get the image of himself dressed as Ryder out of his mind.

"Well, one thing I've learned about being a superhero is that the villains usually have some whacked-up plan in mind," he began with a frown. The boy shot a sideways glare at Vlad and said, "Either that, or they're just plain loopy."

Ryder suddenly chuckled and leaned forward as he said, "Or maybe he just wanted to go for the big prizes first." The man bounced his eyebrows. "You need the best if you want to draw in a big crowd, right?" He stopped for a moment and leaned back to place a hand dramatically against his chest. "I'm talking about myself, of course. No idea why he went for you two so soon."

Everyone looked over to Ryder before ignoring him and going back to their conversation. Vlad didn't respond to Danny's goading besides a thin, condescending smile. He opened his mouth to say something but was surprised when Melody got there first.

"The Collector isn't some crazy super villain," she told Danny matter-of-factly. "He's just a museum curator with a creepy interest in important people in history or with certain special skills. There's no alternative motive or big, cliche, evil plot to take over the world or something. And he's not insane. He has a clear cut motive. Collecting people like us is his job; his hobby. Displaying us is his pride and joy. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Vlad didn't display the emotion, but he was a little impressed by the young girl. He couldn't have said it better himself.

Danny frowned back at Melody, looking highly unimpressed. The girl was just a snooty, know-it-all. He really wanted to argue with her just for the sake of arguing, but eventually decided against it. He guessed it made sense that a bad guy would think she knew everything there was to know about other bad guys. Not to mention, he was really tired of arguing today. It was starting to wear on his nerves. The last thing he wanted was to start yet another fight.

The teen only shrugged in response to what Melody had said and cringed as he shoved another spoonful of gunk into his mouth. After, somehow, swallowing it, he asked curiously, "So how'd the Collector catch you guys, anyway?"

The table got quiet very quickly. Neither Ryder or Melody wanted to share how they got kidnapped right away. The memory wasn't a warm and fuzzy one. After a moment, Melody decided to take the lead again and spoke up. Her tone and flippant behavior made her sound casual, but it wasn't like the Ice Queen was going to ever fully open up to any of them and show her true feelings about the day her world changed forever.

"I'll admit," she started off with a flip of her hair, as if she was a diva about to share some gossip with her friends, "I'd gotten rather soft after my biggest heist. I had settled down somewhere, developed a routine." She rolled her eyes. "I was so stupid. Anyways, I was on my usual morning jog when a group of ghosts jumped me. It wouldn't have been a problem if the Collector hadn't distracted me with his power. The situation made it so I couldn't put up much of a fight; although, one of the ghosts did get a face full of pepper spray." She grinned a little at this satisfying memory.

"Yeah," she finished up with a nod. "That's basically how I got here. Tell them your story, Ryder. It's more entertaining than mine."

"But of course," Ryder said in the best French accent that he could muster. This was admittedly bad, but the man took no notice of it as he cleared his throat. He wasn't particularly fond of talking about his failures, though there weren't many of them in his book.

The thief leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. He lowered his voice to a slightly serious tone as he said, "I don't usually give out details on my work, but the story'll definitely suck if I don't, so, listen carefully!"

Ryder smiled a little wistfully as he stared past the two half-ghosts across from him. He seemed to be looking at a scene only he could see. "I was in France. The Louvre to be exact. That's in Paris, for those of you who don't know." His gaze lingered on Danny for a moment before he swiftly continued.

"I was there to get this Jean Jouvenet painting. Really high-class shi-stuff," Ryder hastily corrected himself, glancing at Danny again. He waved his hand and forged on. "Woulda made me a fortune. I've been trying to get that thing for years, but somethin' always happens." He sighed and shook his head despondently before brightening again. "Anyway! I just got the thing out of its case when I saw this reflection of someone standing behind me in the glass."

Ryder waved his hands to act out his story better. "I spun around, but when I turned, the person was already gone!" he exclaimed, shock written all over his face as if he was back there in the moment. "I was getting a bad feeling, and it felt like the room was getting colder, too. The only thing I could do was nab the painting, roll it up in my protective pouch, and run for it. The second I turned to beat it like Michael Jackson, I came face-to-face with the Collector and his goons!

"It didn't scare me or anythin'. I mean, pft, don't think so. I only ran 'cause I'm a thief and that's what we do," Ryder said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He went on before anyone at the table could call him out on what he'd said. "I heard the Collector try and say something, but I wasn't paying attention to him. Kinda hard to focus on voices when you're dodging motion sensors and French guards with nightsticks...and tasers." The man shuddered. "Hate tasers."

Ryder scratched at his chin as he remembered that night. He'd never admit how freaked out he'd been running from those ghosts through the museum. "I only made it about halfway back to my escape route before they caught up with me," he explained. "The Collector told me to freeze while I was squeezing through a beam-section... y'know, those red laser beam things ya see in the movies. Pretty sure the security camera guy had a laugh about that one." The man pouted a little and blew out a sigh as he muttered, "The Collector took the painting along with me. It's actually in this stupid museum now. First thing I do when I get out is steal that thing once and for all."

"Interesting," Vlad mused aloud. He had given up on his food and had his head propped up on his palm as he'd listened to Ryder's tale. "I assumed the Collector's power only worked on Danny and I in our human forms because we were half ghosts, but I see it works on humans as well. It's not very strong on humans, though."

"Yeah?" Melody asked with a tilt of her head. "Why do you say that?"

"Because when he spoke to us when we were ghosts, we couldn't disobey," Vlad openly explained. They all needed to know everything about the Collector's power if they were to escape, so it was another time to swallow his pride for Vlad. "I don't know about you, Daniel, but it was like I didn't want to disobey."

Danny nodded at Vlad after shaking himself. Ryder's story had definitely been intriguing. Either the guy was really good at making up stories, or his life was as exciting as he made it out to be. "Yeah, me too," the boy agreed, shuddering at remembering the feeling. "It was like...it was wrong to want to not listen to him or something. Like I'd be breaking some unwritten rule."

Ryder frowned in puzzlement as he chewed on the end of his plastic spoon. "Now that you mention it, the Collector only got me to freeze long enough for the goon patrol to catch me," he murmured around the utensil in his mouth. "Huh. Weird. Humans-1. Ghosts-0."

Melody continued to eat her food while Vlad nodded, deep in thought. For once, Ryder was right. In the museum, and when it came down to confronting the Collector, it would be wiser to stay human.

Vlad kept running through escape scenarios in his head without listening to the others' conversation until Melody snapped her fingers in front of his face. Vlad looked up at her, trying not to glare. Though his pondering hadn't got him anywhere due to the fact he didn't have near enough information about the museum, Vlad still didn't appreciate the interruption. He was getting very frustrated with his new company. He would rather be in his own thoughts than talk to them, quite honestly.

"Hey, Earth to Batman," Melody said, standing up, "Ryder is going to show you and the squirt where you'll be sleeping. You better get some rest now. The Collector doesn't like it if you sleep while on display."

Standing up, Vlad asked as Melody walked the opposite way Ryder was heading with Danny, "What about you?"

"Oh, girls get their own cabin of course," Melody said with a narcissistic smirk. Sweetly humming to some old pop song, Melody sashayed over to her cabin alone. Vlad shook his head while following Ryder and Danny. _That girl is definitely trouble,_ he thought as he caught up with Danny and Ryder.

"Man, this sucks," Danny muttered under his breath as he unwillingly followed Ryder towards the squatty looking cabin that would be their home for however long they were there. The boy was at his wit's end. He didn't like the fact that he'd been brought here with Vlad - his worst enemy - but now it was so much worse. Melody was basically just as horrible as Vlad was. Although Danny didn't know much about her, he could sense that something was up with her. Something bad. Seriously, one Vlad was bad enough in his book. Now he had two to deal with.

And Ryder...

Danny glanced up at the man who was smiling proudly as he led the way towards the entrance of their cabin. The teen had no clue what to think about that man. He was officially the strangest person he'd ever met.

As if sensing Danny's thoughts, Ryder suddenly halted and spun back around to face the two half-ghosts. "This, my friends, is Chateau le Ryder! Enter at your own expense!" he shouted joyously before flinging the door open and stepping to the side for Danny and Vlad to enter.

Raising an eyebrow back at each other, the pair walked inside and looked around. The first thing Vlad noticed upon entry was the smell. It was bad. Very bad, and it didn't mix well with whatever Vlad had just eaten. Pushing down his urge to vomit, Vlad put his hands on his hips and tried to breathe through his mouth instead of his nose.

The room was pretty spacious considering how small it looked from the outside. There were two sets of metal, squeaky bunk beds on each side of the room with three dressers scattered in between. The floor was hardwood and made distinctive _thunks_ each time one of the boys took a step.

"Well... it's, uh, nice?" Danny guessed as he attempted to smile up at Vlad. He didn't think he pulled it off very well so he dropped his head and cleared his throat. "Kinda like the cabin at that camp I went to in sixth grade. Heh."

Ryder appeared behind Vlad and Danny and threw his arms around both their shoulders. He gave them a happy squeeze and declared, with his signature grin, "This is gonna be awesome, guys! Like a sleep-over! A really awesome sleep-over!"

_If I have to keep this nice behavior up for more than a week, eventually I'm going to snap,_ Vlad thought pessimistically. Shoving himself out of Ryder's grip, he added to the thought, _Especially if I have to keep living with this lunatic._

"A sleepover," Vlad said without any enthusiasm. "How dandy."

Without consulting Danny, Vlad claimed the bottom bed to the free bunk, laid down with his arms crossed behind his head, and closed his eyes. All the man wanted to do at that point was block out the mad house he had woken up in and think. Alone with his thoughts; that's all he wanted.

"Aw," Ryder whined, shoulders slumping as he watched Vlad collapse on his bed in a huff. The man looked down at Danny, his bottom lip dramatically pushed out. "He doesn't seem so excited, Robin."

"Don't call me Robin," Danny instantly snapped back as he crossed his arms over his chest. He frowned around the room before looking back at Ryder when the man didn't respond to him. The boy couldn't help but wince a little when he saw the upset look on the thief's face. He seriously looked a second away from crying.

_Being mean to him is like clubbing a baby seal,_ Danny realized as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean...he's probably just tired, Ryder," the teen amended himself, nodding reasonably. "It's been a long day. Let's just go to sleep and talk in the morning." He paused before forcing a smile to his face. "And you can call me Robin if you want to."

Ryder's sad demeanor disappeared as he instantly cheered up. It was like his emotions could be controlled with the flick of a switch. "Sounds good, Rob-o!" he declared as he strolled over to his bed. He kicked his boots off along the way, letting them land wherever they decided to land in the dark room. He fell unceremoniously onto the bed and buried his face into the pillow.

Danny was almost positive the guy was asleep the second his body made contact with the bed. Shaking his head slowly because of Ryder's bizarre actions, the teen crawled onto the top bunk of the bed Vlad had chosen and laid down. He stared pensively at the ceiling as thoughts of his friends and family began to plague him again.

They had to get out of here, and they had to do it soon. Danny rolled onto his side to try and escape his anxious thoughts as he sighed a little. "Night, Vlad," he muttered under his breath. No matter how pathetic it sounded, Danny was almost glad that Vlad had been brought here with him.

Below him, Vlad paused in his thinking when he heard Danny whisper goodnight. He looked up at the top bunk before closing his eyes again. Vlad didn't want to think about Danny; he wanted to think about escape. For hours he didn't move as he uselessly turned over ideas. Finally, after so many hours of restless, unprofitable thoughts that only seemed to frustrate and worry the man, Vlad fell into a fitful sleep.

A/N: Woo! I like these long chapters. Pretty satisfying, I believe. More goodness is sure to come next weekend! See you guys then!


	4. Chapter 4 Display Case Fever

Disclaimer: We don't own the DP characters. Yes, shocking, I know.

Previously in The Collector: Talking and eating happened! However, Vlad and Danny didn't find either of those activities very appealing. They learned a bit more about their new comrades but was it enough to actually know them? Also, the two hybrids were introduced to their new living conditions. And, as Danny put it, it's like summer camp in the Ghost Zone. Fun-fun.

Chapter 4: Display Case Fever

"Hey, Danny...Danny...Dan-ny."

Something flicked his nose, and the boy groaned as his eyes slowly fluttered open. It took a moment for his eyes to focus and his mind to pull itself from the fretful dreams he'd been having. When his gaze finally did come into focus, Danny gasped and jolted backwards into his pillow.

Ryder was grinning down at him, doing a very good impression of an excited puppy. The man's face was maybe a few inches away from his own. It was almost as if he had zero respect for personal space.

"Morning, sunshine!" he said, throwing his hands in the air as he let his feet drop heavily to the floor again. "Time to get up and face the day!"

Danny blinked a few times as his memories from the day before came back to him. Once they had, he groaned and placed a hand against his forehead. "I was really hoping this was all a dream," he grumbled under his breath.

Ryder chuckled as he yanked the covers off Danny so that he would have no other choice but to get up. "I say that every morning," he agreed with a grin. "Now get up. Have you seen the Vladster? He was already gone when I woke up. Let's go find him."

Danny shoved his face back into the pillow and responded with nothing but a low groaning sound. He didn't want to get up so early. He didn't have a watch, but he just knew it was early.

"C'mon!" Ryder persisted, sounding completely unfazed by the boy's grumbling. He yanked on Danny's leg. "It'll be fu-un. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon."

Danny pulled his head away from the pillow to glare at Ryder with the heat of a thousand suns. He was just about to growl at the man to leave him alone when the sound of a toilet being flushed drew both their attentions to the door that opened at the far end of the room. Ryder and Danny stared silently back at Vlad as the man stepped out of the bathroom and paused when he found the pair staring at him.

"Oh," Ryder said, putting a hand to his forehead. "Bathroom. Totally should've thought of that. Well...we did it, Danny! We found him! Go us!"

Vlad frowned at the two staring at him as if he had appeared from some magical land, gave a sigh, and walked out of the cabin without a word. He was groggy from the lack of sleep, and his mind felt like mush from all the anxiety. Rolling up his sleeves as he leisurely walked over to the picnic tables, he saw that Melody was already there. The girl was taking her time brushing her long, golden hair at one of the tables. She looked calm, serene, and totally in control.

Hearing him coming, Melody paused and looked up at Vlad. Instantly, a guarded expression came over her features. Vlad responded with an icy smile.

"I want to ask you something," he said as he approached.

"Yeah? What's that?" she said, trying to hide her curiosity behind her flippant tone.

"How do you stay sane in this place?" Vlad asked with a wry smile.

With a nasty smile, Melody shot back, "Didn't you know, Masters? I'm perfect. I don't break."

"Sarcasm like that is beneath you," Vlad stated.

As he sat down across from her, Vlad was surprised when she retorted sharply, "Well, I'm not the one pretending to be nice. Don't you think that's a little beneath you?"

Vlad stared long and hard back at Melody with a thin, mysterious smile before saying simply, "It's a means to an end."

"Uh-huh," Melody said, flaunting a condescending tone. "Good luck with that, Batman."

"Ooh, bonding, are we?" Ryder interrupted their conversation before Vlad or Melody could say more. Despite how early it was, the man appeared to be well rested and ready to be cheerful until someone cracked from his peppiness. "For your efforts, I bestow upon thee...breakfast!" Ryder clunked a tray down in front of Vlad and slid the second one in his hand over to Melody before he took a seat beside her. "Eat up!"

Danny, after handing a tray to Ryder, slowly sat down beside Vlad with his own plate of mystery breakfast mush. The boy did not look happy. His hair was clumped up into a spiky mess and his clothes made him look like he was some sort of wrinkly hobo. He stared down at his tray with a grossed-out expression on his face as he prodded a spoon into the gunky mush.

He was definitely hungry, but he wasn't sure if he was that desperate just yet.

Raising his eyes to avoid looking at his only food, Danny stared across the table at Ryder and Melody. It took him a moment to realize that both of the thieves actually looked clean. And that was when it hit him.

"Where the heck did you guys get new clothes?" Danny blurted before he could stop himself. He was just confused. He had a hard time believing that the Collector had caught them and allowed them to bring an extra set of clothes to the museum.

"Chreck mmdraws mhm cahmin," Ryder instantly answered as he shoveled food into his mouth. Danny gave the man a pointed look, silently telling him that he didn't speak food-in-the-mouth language. After swallowing heavily and clearing his throat, Ryder said again, "Check the drawers in the cabin. There should be clothes."

"Oh," Danny said after a pause. "Well...I guess that actually makes sense."

Looking down at Danny, Vlad realized he had asked a good question. The thought of the Collector actually collecting their clothing for them was a new level of creepy, but Vlad decided not to bring that subject up. At least they'd have clean clothes. He'd like to end the story there.

Picking at his food without much heart in the action, Vlad decided it was time to say something to the group. They were all thinking it, but no one had summed up the guts to start them all off. Being the leader he was, Vlad put it upon his shoulders to get everyone going.

"Alright," he said after putting down his spoon. When he had captured everyone's attention, Vlad continued. "I believe it's safe to say we all want to escape from this place. All of us either have the brains and/or the skills to get out, but it is obvious we would have to pull our resources together if we want to accomplish anything around here. I can not get out alone, and neither can any of you. So I feel like we should start thinking of methods of escape now, because it's not like we have anything else to do."

"Like we haven't been thinking of escaping before," Melody sneered.

Hardly daunted by her attitude, Vlad told her calmly, "Of course. But now you have Danny and me to add to the equation. Your chances of getting out now are probably higher now than before because of what we can offer. Don't deny that."

Being her typical icy self, Melody pouted with an eye roll and over-dramatic sigh while going back to eating her food. Turning toward Ryder, Vlad went out on a very uncomfortable limb and asked him politely, "Well, do you have any suggestions for escape, Mr. Walker?"

Ryder froze with his spoon halfway up to his lips. More than half of his food was gone by this point, and he'd just started eating moments ago. Danny knew that the man was really starting to rival Tucker in the 'eating-like-a-ravaged-animal' department. The thief slowly lowered the spoon as he looked back at Vlad, his expression thoughtful and serious.

For a moment, Danny almost thought Ryder was going to say something helpful, but that hope quickly died when the man opened his mouth.

"Well, first, we should start with getting out of this room," Ryder said, nodding and smiling as if the subject of escape was no big deal. "Then go from there. I suggest spoons! We could totally dig ourselves out like that dude in the Shawshank Redemption! But we'd need a poster to cover up our tracks...or, like, a rug or something. Probably a rug. A poster would look shady just sitting on the floor like that."

Danny let his head fall into his open palm so he wouldn't have to see Vlad's reaction to this completely retarded statement. It was too early to be the peacemaker.

Why did I even ask? Vlad thought, his face a mixture of astonishment and regret that was trying hard not to reveal the man's true frustration. Catching Melody's eye, Vlad noticed she was smirking and keeping in a snicker as she ate her food, as if mocking Vlad for his stupidity for even trying with Ryder. And of course Danny wasn't helping. The teen was fixing to be simply a spectator for all Vlad knew.

Isn't there anyone in this group who knows how to show some initiative? Vlad bitterly thought as he looked around the table once more. I'm the evil genius super villain, not everyone's damn babysitter! This is impossible!

"I don't know about all of you," Vlad said sternly, "but I want to get out of this place. Preferably soon. Doesn't any of you have a logical basis of which we can form a plan?"

"Well you are the evil genius here, Vlad," Danny replied dryly without lifting his head up from his hand. He was so tired. It felt like he'd only gotten twenty minutes of sleep. He'd done that before, actually, but it still sucked. The boy finally brought his eyes up to meet Vlad's as he stated blandly, "Why don't you think of something logical?"

Before Vlad could reply, Ryder leaned forward and demanded, "What's wrong with my plan? That could totally work. The Collector'd never see it comi- whoa, what time is it?" The man suddenly sat up straight in his seat, gaze immediately shooting to the digital clock hanging high up on the wall. "Oh, um, er, what's that over there?" Ryder suddenly shouted and pointed off behind the two half-ghosts.

Startled, Danny and Vlad turned in their seats to look at what Ryder had pointed out, but there was nothing there. When Danny swiveled back around to glare at Ryder, he found that the man was no longer sitting at the table. In fact, he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

After a confused pause, Danny muttered, "And we're positive that Ryder's not a ghost, right? Like, Houdini's ghost, I mean. We're sure?"

Without even having to look beside her, Melody knew that Ryder was gone. Smiling condescendingly at the two half ghosts, she told them, "He always does that. Every, single day he goes and hides from the guards so he can postpone the inevitable. Eventually the guards come in, find him, and force him into our display case."

When the two kept giving her blank stares, Melody leaned a bit forward and whispered as if it was a big, obvious secret that they were too dumb to figure out, "Ryder has claustrophobia."

"No. I don't care," Vlad said, narrowing his eyes as he tried to recapture a thought. "What did you say? Ryder does this every day?"

"Yeah," Melody said. "It's like a routine by now."

"And the guards have to come in here to fetch him?"

"Uh, yeee-aah. That's what I just said. Weren't you even list-"

"That's our first plan," Vlad cut her off, a sly smile slithering across his face at the thought.

Danny's eyebrows furrowed at hearing Ryder's big secret. "Poor dude," he said quietly before he stopped and turned to look at Vlad. "Wait, what? Our first plan? How does Ryder being claustrophobic help us?" He glanced at Melody again as he said, "Which is really weird, by the way."

The boy quickly faced Vlad as he pointed a forefinger at the man. "This plan better not involve shoving Ryder into a closet or something, Vlad. He's weird, but you're not gonna torture him while I'm around," he said as sternly as he could manage.

As bizarre as Ryder and Melody were, they were still people. Being who he was, it was Danny's job to keep them safe, and he took that job seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous, Danny," Vlad chided the teen. "Of course I'm not going to stuff the man into a closet. How would that accomplish anything?"

"Then enlighten us," Melody drawled, sounding bored already.

"We'll use his routine to get out of this room," Vlad tried to evenly explain. "When Ryder hides as he normally does, we will lie in wait for the guards to come. Once they do, Danny and I will attack them and use the door they come in from to escape once they are down. I'll admit, it's not a very efficient plan and much can go wrong, but it's a plan...which none of you seem to be coming up with. (At least Ryder actually had a plan.) We have to try something, though, and it's a start."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. The plan was basic, but Vlad was right. At least they had an idea to work with. That meant they were doing something right.

"Yeah, that could work. That could totally work," Danny agreed, sitting up from his slouched position. "The guards'll be so used to nothing happening when they come to get Ryder, they won't even expect it. That's a great idea."

Ding!

Both Vlad and Danny flinched when they heard the high-pitched chime ring throughout the room. Immediately, the other ghosts milling about began to move towards the open doors of their personal display cases. And, as if on cue, a door slid open from beside the food window off to their left.

A group of three green ghosts floated out of the door, looking bored and annoyed. They each had wispy tails and wore dark, blue uniforms that, no doubt, meant they worked in the museum. Danny could only assume these were the guards that Melody had mentioned before.

"They're...they won't hurt Ryder, will they?" Danny warily asked Melody as the girl stood up. After a moment, he decided to follow her example and rose to his feet. He remembered the Collector telling them that the chime meant the museum was open and ready for guests. "He's gonna be ok, right?"

"Oh, he'll be fine," Melody sighed with a wave of her hand. "The ghosts don't hurt him. It's him who hurts himself." She kept walking away as she complained under her breath, "Little baby, that's what he is. It's just a giant fish tank. Nothing scary at all."

"We better go," Vlad told Danny who was already ahead of him. "Ryder will be fine. You heard her. This happens every day. So stop worrying about him and start thinking about how we're going to get through today."

Vlad wasn't looking forward to hours alone in a glass room with only Danny as his company that day, but the promise of progress and escape was pushing him along. And at least he didn't have to pretend to be nice around Danny. He could be more himself.

Danny glared at Vlad's back. The man only managed to remind him of how much he didn't want to be stuck anywhere he couldn't escape from with his worst enemy. After releasing a heavy sigh, Danny said, "There's always I-Spy, Vlad."

Sarcastic comment aside, Danny trudged after Vlad, heading for their display case door. Just before he reached it, he heard a loud shout come from behind him. He spun around just in time to see Ryder being escorted from their cabin with a ghost on each side of him, holding his arms behind his back.

The thief was struggling wildly, his attempts to escape desperate. He looked scared out of his mind. "Let go, let go, let go!" Ryder protested in something close to a hysteric yelp. "C'mon, guys, I can pay you! Seriously! I'll give you my plastic spoon collection, honest! We can talk this out can't w-"

Ryder's pleading was instantly cut off the second the display case door shut when Danny stepped inside with Vlad. There was a moment of silence as the two half-ghosts stared at each other, neither knowing exactly what to say to the other. Their display case's glass was blocked off with some cloth from the outside when they walked into the room, so the two assumed they had some time before they'd be on public display.

The back of Danny's neck began to prickle from the high levels of awkward, and he cleared his throat as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I was serious about the I-Spy thing, y'know?" he stated with a fast smirk. Sarcasm always helped to make him feel better.

Vlad glared at Danny before smiling nicely down at him. He put his hands on his hips and said with his usual smirk, "I-Spy with my little eye an idiotic, bored teenager. That should take you the day to figure out."

Danny gritted his teeth, forcing himself to not immediately shout back an insult at the man. They both knew that Vlad could press every single one of his buttons, but he didn't want to show it right now. Not when he was stuck with the man for however long they would be in this museum.

The boy took a shallow breath and grumbled back, "Well, that didn't take long, Vlad. I would've thought you'd pretend to be nice for at least five minutes, but I guess that's just too much for a jerky fruitloop like you."

"Oh, come now, Daniel," Vlad said with an amused grin. He was feeling more like himself already. "What did you expect after more than an hour with that pair of...what's a delicate word for them? Eccentrics? That will do. Anyways, you should know by now I don't pretend to be kind simply for your sake. Though I guess I could be giving you too much credit."

Danny growled under his breath and fisted his hands as he glared up at Vlad. The man should've known that he was in no mood to be treated like this. It was way too early and the situation wasn't exactly helping. The boy blew out an angry breath and snarled, "Look, cheesehead, it's way too early for this crap. So could you kindly remove the stick from your butt and try and be-"

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Welcome to my wondrous museum!"

Vlad and Danny froze in place when the Collector's voice rang clearly throughout their display case. Their gazes shot to the cloth thing hanging over the front window of the room. They could just imagine the man standing out there, arms spread wide, a welcoming smile on his face.

"Today, we have a very, very, special addition to my most prized collection. One, that I will admit, is very near and dear to my heart. My pride and joy, one might say! You all have heard of the halfas, I am sure. Two beings that have one foot in the living realm and the other in our own world.

"You should not fear these beings, I assure you, good people. They belong to me now, and they are of no harm to you. I have made sure of this. You may admire them without fear of injury. They are beautiful works of art, masterpieces before their time! The only two of their kind! Feel free to move as closely as you can - without touching the glass, mind you. We don't want to frighten them, now do we?"

The Collector paused to chuckle heartily before he raised his voice to declare, "Trust me when I say that you do not want to miss a moment of the most original beings on Earth and the Ghost Zone!"

"Oh-kay," Danny drawled out the word as he glanced up at Vlad. "I'm officially creeped out now."

Vlad glanced down at Danny, nodding as he said quietly, "Agreed."

As if on cue, the curtain obstructing the glass case fell to the floor with a ruffle and flourish of fabric. There was a simultaneous exhale of awe between at least a hundred or more ghosts that had been eagerly listening to the Curator's speech as Danny and Vlad were finally revealed. They were packed like sardines into the small hallway, pressing into each other and even phasing through some to get a better look at the two halfas. Their excited, astonished faces peered curiously into the glass display as they pointed and nodded in admiration for the Curator's choice in art.

Shoulders slumping in despair, Vlad narrowed his eyes in pure displeasure at the multitude of ghosts that had come to get a glimpse at him and Danny. He felt like a freak show. It wasn't the first time he'd experienced the feeling, but this time it stung more badly than ever before. Vlad knew from that moment forward that he was going to hate getting up each day while he was stuck in this museum, and he was going to try every, single possibility to escape.

"And now," Vlad growled down at Danny as he fought to keep his emotions under control, "I'm pissed."

A shudder passed down Danny's spine as he stared back at all of the eyes peering in at him. He'd never had this feeling before. He'd never, ever been stared at by so many ghosts in his life. It was just pure uncomfortable. There was no other way to describe how awful being inspected like this felt.

The boy's cheeks began to redden in embarrassment, and he took a small step back from the window. He had to fight down the urge to duck behind Vlad to avoid being looked at. "This is so messed up," Danny whispered, swallowing hard to try and hide how truly creeped out he was feeling.

Danny looked back up at Vlad, hoping that his deep embarrassment wasn't showing on his face. "Now I know how the animals at the zoo feel," he said, running a hand through his hair to calm himself down. "No wonder they try and eat the people taking pictures of them."

Both half-ghosts looked up when they heard a light tap against the glass. It was the Collector. He'd moved through the crowd and was now standing at the forefront, looking prouder than a father sending his kid off to college.

"Give them a little show, halfas," he said with a nod to the side to indicate the crowd behind him. "I want them to see your ghostly sides, if you please. Prove to them why you are a wonderful addition to my museum."

Hands balling into tight, angry fists, Vlad growled back in a withering tone, "No. I don't think we will."

While he wouldn't have obeyed anyways, this was a good way for Vlad to test and see how far the Collector would go to get what he wanted. His scathing glare almost challenged the powerful ghost to defy him. He didn't even have to glance at Danny to see if the teen agreed with him. He knew Danny well enough to know the boy would be just as defiant as him.

Danny nodded to what Vlad had said and added in a growl, "You're nuts if you think we're gonna listen to you, dude." This was one situation that he actually didn't mind agreeing with Vlad.

The Curator simply smiled and shook his head. "Now Mr. Masters..." His whitish, blue eyes drifted lazily up from Danny's face to land on Vlad's. "Defiance will get you nowhere, I promise you. It is much easier to listen to me. I can only hope you learn this in your time here."

The ghost glanced back down at Danny as he quietly said, "You want their admiration, don't you?" His sharp eyes flicked back to Vlad as he lowered his entrancing voice further, forcing the pair to listen to his every word. "You want them to look at you with awe and amazement. You want to transform for them, my halfas."

Danny found himself hanging onto everything the Collector was saying. He was leaning forward, desperate to hear every last word the ghost had said to him. Once he was finished, he wanted to do exactly as the man had said. He did want the ghosts to admire him. He was art, after all.

The teen closed his eyes and quickly morphed into his ghost half, feeling instantly better the moment he'd done what the Curator had asked of him.

Vlad lasted only a few more seconds than Danny did. He knew he was under the ghost's spell, yet he hardly stood a chance against it as he eventually caved into the commanding voice. In a flash, he transformed, releasing a long, pent-up breath once the morph had taken place.

In an instant, Vlad's anger rushed back to him. Uttering a curse under his breath for the Collector, he threw back an arm and flung an ectoplasm ray at the glass wall. The attack simply ricocheted off the glass and came back for the man. Eyes widening, Vlad quickly turned intangible and let the ray go through him, forgetting that Danny was standing behind him.

Danny, still under the Curator's trance, had no time to avoid the ectoblast. It slammed into his gut, taking the boy right off of his feet. He crashed hard into the ground and smacked his head against the far wall in the process. Groaning in pain, Danny rolled onto his side and held the back of his throbbing head.

Hearing the crash behind him, Vlad stopped what he was doing, closed his eyes, and mentally chided himself for reacting on impulse instead of using his head. Though the boy surely deserved it, Vlad knew it was unwise to upset the teen too much. They were supposed to be working together, not fighting like cats and dogs.

Danny blearily looked up and glared at Vlad when he realized that the man had totally just blasted him for no reason. Not to mention, the Collector had forced him into ghost form! He hated to be tricked so easily!

Eyes flashing with anger, Danny jumped back to his feet and shouted at Vlad, "What the heck was that for?" He shoved the man hard in the back when his frustration reached its peak. "Watch what you're doing, Vlad! This already sucks enough, in case you didn't know!"

Stumbling forward from Danny's harsh shove, Vlad whipped around with his fists blazing with power. It wasn't like Vlad was going to apologize for what he did, due to it being an accident, but the tone in Danny's voice was uncalled for. The teen was making it very hard for Vlad to concentrate on anything. The man was already pretty angry, and it just so happened Danny was the easiest person to take his emotions out on.

"As if I haven't noticed!" he snapped back, unsuccessfully keeping the venom out of his voice. "How about you don't stand in the way, Daniel? Hm? That too hard for you, you being a solo superhero and all? Not used to actually working as a team? And don't use the excuse as your friends being your teammates. They're practically useless."

"I was standing behind you!" Danny yelled back at Vlad as loudly as he could. His stomach was still burning from that attack, and he felt so embarrassed and frustrated. He had to scream at someone, and that someone just happened to be Vlad. "And don't bring them into this! They're my friends! I can understand if you don't know what that means considering you don't have any!"

It was all the confusion, yelling, anger, and frustration that made Vlad act the way he did. He didn't even take the time to spit back a hurtful comment. All he wanted was to make Danny stop screaming at him and saying childish things. It just so happened that blasting him with another ectoplasm ray was the best way to do it. With a loud battle cry, Vlad shot the energy out of his palm, aiming for the teen's chest.

Danny cried out as the attack slammed into his already bruised body and flung him backwards into the wall with enough force to drive the breath completely from his lungs. Gasping like a fish out of water, the boy slid down to his butt, arms wrapped around his midsection to try and stop the pain blasting through his body. It felt like Vlad had cracked a few of his ribs with that attack though he knew that wasn't true.

"Y-you je-jerk," Danny managed to gasp out as he struggled to breathe. He glared up at Vlad with hatred and fear and embarrassment evident on his face. He didn't want to show his weakness in front of the man, but he was having such a hard time hiding it. He didn't want to be here with Vlad. He just wanted to go home.

Vlad made a move to attack again, but thankfully this time a red flag went off in his head just before he threw the next ray. Freezing in the middle of his attack, Vlad's mind had finally caught up with his emotions, surpassed them, and forced the man think clearly. Breathing hard, Vlad's eyes darted over to the crowd that had been watching the two half ghosts with delight and pleasure written all over their faces. It made Vlad sick to his stomach just seeing how he had become a show for all these ghosts.

It was a set up. Plain and simple. The Collector wanted Danny and Vlad to fight, especially in ghost form. The crowd loved it!

Vlad couldn't believe he had fallen for such a simple, sleazy trick. He was smarter and more in control than that. The thought of playing right into the Collector's hand made another rush of fury burn through the man, but this time he kept the emotion in check. It wasn't Danny's fault Vlad felt like crap. It was the Collector's, and taking his anger out on the boy would just be like willingly obeying the ghost's commands. Almost instantly, Vlad anger towards Danny fell away and was redirected at the Collector.

Finding the Collector's face in the crowd, Vlad glared with loathing at the ghost before turning invisible. A collective sound of complaint came from the crowd, but Vlad ignored them as he marched over to Danny as the teen was picking himself back up.

Placing a hand on the kid's forearm, Vlad turned Danny invisible too as he whispered quickly, "Fighting each other is exactly what the Collector wants, Daniel. So stop shouting and calm down, and...I'll do the same. Alright?"

"You were the one who attacked me," Danny instantly shot back, his voice raspy. He took a few more breaths as he peered back out of the glass at all the ghosts watching them. Vlad was right. Fighting wouldn't help anything. It just made them more appealing to "admire."

After a brief pause, Danny swallowed hard and nodded. "Ok...yeah, I'm sorry," he quietly said, holding a hand against his burning chest. "You're right, Vlad. I don't want to entertain them anymore than you do."

"Halfas..." The Collector's voice rose easily above the protests of the crowd. He didn't like that his customers were becoming antsy. The ghost's eyes flashed as he ordered, "Return to visibility now."

With equal amounts of frustration, both Vlad and Danny did what the Collector had ordered. Now that they were in ghost form, they really didn't have much of a choice but to obey. The half-ghosts simultaneously glared daggers at the Collector as the ghost sent them a knowing smile.

He shook a chiding forefinger at them and said, "Do not do that again. We don't want to upset our guests, do we?" The Collector chuckled softly as he slowly spun to face the crowd. "I hope you enjoyed the demonstration, but there is still many more exciting displays to see. Come along, if you wish."

That said, the Collector placed his hands behind his back and strode easily through the crowed, heading off down the hallway to, no doubt, torture someone else for a change. The majority of the ghosts followed him, but some still lingered, anxious to snap pictures of the new additions to the museum.

Danny blew out a heavy sigh once the Collector had left. There was just something so disturbing about being around him. He leaned his back against the wall, grimacing as the bruised muscles in his abdomen burned. Staring intently at the ground to avoid Vlad's eyes, the boy muttered, "Sorry for yelling. I didn't mean to...well, I did, but- yeah, I'm sorry."

Looking down at Danny, Vlad was quiet and pensive for a moment after the apology. Putting his hands on his hips and sighing, the man said, "Oh, come now. It was both our faults. It was only natural that we fell into his game, the two of us being such strong adversaries and all." And that was the closest to an apology that Vlad was going to get.

Quick to focus the subject onto something else, Vlad said after switching back into his human form, "But we should not do that again. The main reason why the Collector chose us is because we fight so often. Therefore, the best way to defy him is to refrain from such business. Unless, of course...he uses his power on us. In that case, we won't have much of choice, now will we?"

Danny nodded unwillingly, looking sick to his stomach. "I don't want to think about that," he muttered as he returned to his human form as well. The bruising along the front of his body felt way worse when he was human, and he groaned a little as he leaned forward to put his hands on his knees.

It felt a little bit better to stare at the ground as he focused on making the pain go away. At least he didn't have to look at Vlad. It's not that he was upset with the man...he just didn't know how to feel. The guy wasn't exactly being nice, but he was trying not to be a jerk. Or maybe that was just all apart of his master plan.

Danny rolled his eyes to himself. Like I'm gonna figure out Vlad in a couple days. Don't think so. The boy heaved a sigh and slowly straightened up again, grimacing noticeably.

He didn't want to. He really didn't want to, but Danny couldn't stop himself from feeling bad about what he'd said. They were both stuck in there together. The least he could do was try his best to be nice...even if Vlad didn't try at all.

"Look...I really am sorry, Vlad," Danny mumbled as he rubbed his arm. He closed his eyes for a moment before forcing himself to look at the man. "We're both stuck here. It sucks. I just...You don't have to or anything, but I'll try my best to behave, I guess." He shrugged a little, knowing he probably sounded dumb.

Though he stared at Danny without any expression, Vlad was slightly mystified by the teen's second and more heartfelt apology. He didn't understand why Danny was promising to behave better. Promises did nothing but break, and the boy was only making himself look awkward and weak. There were times when Vlad truly didn't comprehend Danny's motives. The teen couldn't be that stupid, though. There had to be a logical reason according to Danny's perspective that made him act the way he did that Vlad would just have to keep trying to discover.

Realizing that a long and uncomfortable silence was stretching out between them, Vlad cleared his throat, collected his thoughts, then said carefully, "Don't concern yourself with what happened. It's going to be hard for the both of us to tolerate each other, but it must be done."

Danny coughed awkwardly and nodded again. "Yeah, sure," he agreed without much thought. He couldn't stand it when Vlad just stared at him like that. It was like he was a robot trying to process words and form a logical response. Way beyond creepy.

He stuck his hands into his pockets and looked over at the glass window, frowning softly. There was definitely less ghosts now, but they all had the same stupid look on their face. He just knew that was going to get annoying fast.

The boy's frown deepened when he found that he wasn't going to get rid of the thought nagging in the back of his mind no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. Maybe his brains had been rattled from hitting the wall too hard, or maybe he was going nuts already from being trapped in this box. Either way, Danny found his mind stuck on one question.

Oh, just say it already! he mentally yelled at himself. What's the worst that could happen? He could stare at you awkwardly for another ten minutes?

"Why is it so hard for you to tolerate me?" Danny blurted before he could convince himself to keep his mouth shut. He kept his eyes averted from Vlad's so he wouldn't have to see his reaction, but it was clear that he was tensely waiting for an answer.

Vlad had only taken two steps away from Danny, deep in his own thoughts already when the teen asked the question. Frowning at the far wall, Vlad paused and looked back at Danny curiously. Truth be told, his question was a fair and decent one. He'd never asked such a thing before. Vlad wondered why he was asking now and if Danny actually expected a truthful answer.

A small, knowing smile forming on Vlad's face, the man folded his arms across his chest and said enigmatically, "Why do you think I have trouble tolerating you, Daniel?"

Danny looked up at Vlad, his frown deepening when he saw the grin on the man's face. He still wasn't sure why he'd even bothered asking, but he wanted to at least see it through to the end. Maybe he'd actually get a straight answer, though he knew that was probably gonna be a stretch.

He glanced down at his feet again as he shrugged. "I guess 'cause I don't listen to you," Danny admitted, inspecting his sneakers as if they held a high degree of interest. "I don't believe the things you do. I don't want the things you want. I just wanna do what I think is right, but you don't even agree with what I think is right..."

Danny trailed off for a moment before he looked up at the man and shrugged again. "I'm the sarcastic teenage son of the guy you hate. I guess you don't really need a reason to hate me too."

Nodding in agreement, Vlad said with amusement, "For the most part, you're correct. There were a few points you didn't touch on, but they're reasons I'd rather keep to myself, if you don't mind. Now, that wasn't too hard to think through. Maybe next time you won't even have to ask a question. Dare to dream."

Before Danny could respond to Vlad's sardonic form of teasing, the man changed the subject by swiftly asking, "Now, what do you think of Mr. Walker and Miss Hart so far? Since we're away from them at the moment, I would like to get your opinion on them. Though I already highly suspect you don't care for Miss Hart. She's more of an icy one, isn't she?"

"Wait! You're not even gonna- oh, forget it," Danny interrupted himself with a sigh. He shook his head and swallowed down his rising anger. He should've known Vlad wasn't going to answer him. Maybe he just liked to torture himself by never knowing what his enemies were thinking. That was probably it.

"Miss Hart-less, y'mean?" Danny muttered as he slouched back against the wall again. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best not to pout. It was easier to just move on with the conversation or he'd drive himself insane trying to get Vlad to answer him. He just needed to focus on something else.

The boy scuffed his foot against the ground and shrugged. "There's something not right about her. I think she's your long-lost daughter or something. You both have the same creepy smile." Danny found that he was rambling, and he quickly cleared his throat. "Ryder...uh, well, Ryder's different, that's for sure. I can't tell if he was just born that weird or if it's just all an act to, y'know, survive this place."

Vlad's brow furrowed when hearing Danny's comment about Melody behaving like him, but the expression soon changed as he raised his eyebrows in interest about Ryder. "You make a good point," Vlad murmured. "The man acts like a complete fool sometimes, but I can't help but think he was testing me when he kept calling me a vampire. It was as if he wanted to see what I could do. He's brash, but there's a method to his madness."

Joining Danny at the wall, Vlad leaned his back against it too as he thought aloud, "Hart, on the other hand, I think is naturally that cold. Though she's surprisingly opened up a lot to Ryder. That tells you something about his character. Melody isn't a girl who would trust someone who is that idiotic. She's cunning, smart, and very in control of her emotions and behavior. Everything she does is methodically thought out. She'll be of great use to us when it comes down to escape. She's dangerous, and she's also hiding something." Before he thought about it, Vlad said, "I don't want you talking very much to her."

"No problems there," Danny instantly agreed in a grumble. His mind was more focused on Vlad's interpretations of Melody and Ryder. It was weird, but he'd noticed the same things about the pair as Vlad had. He really couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Finally, the boy's thoughts caught up with him, and he glanced up at Vlad. "Wait, why can't I talk to her very much? I mean, not that I would 'cause I'm pretty sure she hates my guts, but still..."

Danny's eyebrows furrowed deeply as he trailed off again. He didn't want to sound too 'childish' as Vlad had put it. He was trying to get along with the jerk, after all. He, at the very least, wanted to make a good effort. And, who knew, maybe it'd actually get him somewhere.

"...I'm not arguing, I just wanna know why," Danny added quietly.

Evenly, Vlad explained, "Well, she's a manipulator, as you've already seen. She's very good at it. I'm just afraid that she could...persuade you to say things you probably won't want to say...about your secret identity...or mine. She could start something. I'm not...sure." With some frustration, Vlad found it hard to explain why he had commanded Danny not to talk to her, especially when he wasn't so sure himself.

Sighing in exasperation with himself, Vlad raised his palms up in a certain kind of defeat and concluded, "You know what? She just can't be trusted. That's all. It will be better for the both of us if we keep our distance from her. Understand?"

Whoa. Vlad actually sounds nervous about this. Danny realized as he silently stared up at the man. He really didn't like the tone of Vlad's voice. I mean, Melody's kind of scary in her own way...but that scary?

"Yeah, I get it," Danny warily answered. The boy turned his head away to stare at the far wall. "But it's gonna be kinda hard to avoid her considering we've got nowhere to go. And we do still need her help. She's gonna need us as much as we need her, right?" He paused for a moment before smiling a bit and cheekily saying, "We can always just make friends with Ryder. That shouldn't be too hard."

At the horrible thought, Vlad broke out into his own smile. "All we would have to do to get that man to trust us would probably play a game of tic-tac-toe with him. That easy," Vlad joked. Becoming more serious, he said, "But becoming 'friends' with Ryder won't hurt us. Actually, that is not a bad idea." Smiling again, Vlad continued on the thought, "If we get Ryder to trust us first, Melody will have no other choice but to do likewise. It might pain her to do so, but it's for everyone's own good in this case."

Danny grinned at the mental image of Vlad being forced to play endless games of tic-tac-toe with Ryder. Dang, he really hoped that happened. For the memories if nothing else.

"You do know that getting Ryder to be friends with us means you're gonna have to try to be nice to him, Vlad," Danny pointed out, still smiling. "I think I can manage it, personally." He laughed softly to himself as he questioned with a wide grin, "But can you handle it? I'm worried your face is going to get stuck in a permanent scowl if you spend too much time with him. Or you might just develop an eye-twitch. I'm still not sure which yet."

Chuckling in a mocking fashion, Vlad jokingly shot back, "Oh, your powers of observation are adorable. Honestly, there's a better chance I'll like the man more if I don't ever have to talk to him. I would rather converse with Miss Hart. At least she's stimulating with her conversation. When Ryder prattles on uselessly, all I can think of is that I'm communicating with a potato."

Danny couldn't help but laugh. He chocked it up to cabin fever...or 'display case' fever, in this case. He wasn't quite ready to accept that Vlad had said something that actually made him laugh just yet.

"Well, that's one smart potato," the boy said with a smile. He glanced up at Vlad. "How about this? I'll do my best to keep Ryder preoccupied as much as possible, and you can deal with Melody. Though, I'm not really sure if it's even possible to keep Ryder preoccupied for more than two seconds, but I'll try. That sound fair?"

Vlad was surprised that Danny had actually laughed. He hadn't meant the comment to be a joke, and yet the teen still found it funny. Swiftly, the man dashed the expression away as he thought about what Danny had said. It was a simple idea, but Vlad kind of liked it. Danny and Ryder seemed to get along to an extent, and Vlad had a better time dealing with Melody; it would work.

Nodding, Vlad said, "Sounds fair to me. I wish you luck in your endeavor. Keeping Ryder preoccupied for more than five minutes seems as futile as teaching a cat to fetch."

Now that things seemed to be calming down, Vlad felt the weight of sleeplessness press upon him. His body was in a highly agitated and stressful state, making his muscles tight and his head ache. The man slid down the wall until he was sitting, closing his eyes as he massaged his temples. He had to keep reminding himself that he'd done all that he could so far. All he had to do now was wait until lunch. Still, his body didn't allow him to relax.

"Heh, yeah. Or like trying to get Tucker to eat a piece of lettuce," Danny commented softly, glancing down at his feet when he thought of his friends again. He knew they had to be worried for him. He hadn't exactly said much before he'd flown off to Vlad's house to give him a well deserved butt-kicking.

Danny was pretty sure that his butt was gonna be the one getting kicked if they ever got out of here. Sam would probably be the one to do it, too.

Releasing a quiet sigh, Danny opened his eyes and blinked in surprise when he found Vlad rubbing at his temples as if to fight away a headache. The guy didn't exactly look vulnerable, but it was definitely something new to Danny to see him acting this way. The fact that Vlad looked tired actually made him seem a little bit human for once. He really didn't know what to say at this point. Vlad probably just wanted some peace and quiet, though that was definitely gonna be hard to get with all the ghosts staring in at them from outside the glass.

Danny stuffed his hands into his pockets as he looked away from Vlad. "You should take a nap," he suggested, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead. "I'll wake you up if the Collector comes back."

Looking up, Vlad saw that Danny wasn't joking or teasing. His face was open and honest like it usually was, to Vlad's slight annoyance. The teen hardly hid anything. Though Vlad was tempted to take Danny up on his offer, there was still a bit of rebellion and a lot more pride in the man that warned him against the proposition. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be in the teen's debt, even if it was for a simple nap.

"I think I can handle a few hours of sleeplessness, Daniel, thank you," he said with a thin smile.

Danny's brow furrowed in a frown when he heard Vlad's response. The teen rolled his eyes and muttered, "Fine."

He probably should've expected that response, honestly, but he guessed he was just hoping to somehow get along with Vlad. As pathetic as that sounded. It shouldn't have annoyed him so much, but it really did. He was trying to be nice, trying to get along, and Vlad was just outright being a paranoid jerk.

Not to mention, now that he looked closer, Danny could definitely tell just how close to being strung out Vlad was. The dude really just needed to catch a good hour of rest if he wanted to be at 100%. And they both needed to be at their best if they wanted to get out of here.

But how was he going to get Vlad to trust him for a whole sixty minutes while he slept?

Danny was silent for a few moments as he thought about it. Finally, he glanced down at the man and deadpanned, "And at lunchtime when Ryder's annoying the crap out of you, and you wanna punch his lights out 'cause you're sleep deprived, don't come crying to me, ok? I'm not gonna say anything."

Sighing in aggravation, Vlad tried not to glare at the teen as he stated, "I appreciate the effort, Daniel. Really, I do, but don't fool yourself into thinking I'm going to bring my guard down just because you offer to be a lookout for a nap. Next time just accept the fact that I turned you down and move on. No sense getting so huffy over the entire thing. Getting angry over it is a waste of your time. That is another reason why you're so childish. You hang onto what everyone says likes it's a personal thing."

Running his fingers through his hair, the man looked away and muttered, "Besides, it's not like I could sleep if I wanted to. My body is too...stressed." It was the closest thing to making amends that he could with the teen without stepping too far out of his comfort zone.

Danny slowly shut his mouth the moment Vlad looked away from him. He'd been seconds away from yelling at the man to just take a stupid nap already, but thankfully was able to catch himself before he could. He frowned as he silently looked down at Vlad.

He finally got it. The dude was just too worried to even think about sleeping right now. Vlad probably had a billion escape plans going through his brain all at once, and he was stuck in a tiny room with ghosts staring in at him with someone he didn't even like keeping him company.

Man, I'd be stressed, too, Danny realized as he nodded to himself. I mean, not that I'm not-not stressed, but it's probably worse for fruitloops.

He was finally starting to understand Vlad a little bit. The boy couldn't deny that it was a nice feeling. "Um, right, sorry," Danny apologized, holding his hands up to get his point across. "I'll just...go sit over there. Quietly."

Again with the apologies! Vlad had to grit his teeth to keep a spiteful comment inside him this time. Didn't the boy see how obnoxiously weak he looked when he said he was sorry that many times? But at least the teen didn't put up another fight. That, for sure, was a refreshing improvement. Maybe the boy was learning something after all.

The boy crossed the small cell and took a seat against the opposite wall. He propped his arms across his knees and rested his chin on top of them as he inspected the wall. All he had to do was last until lunchtime. That couldn't be too hard.

Rubbing his forehead to try and calm his many thoughts, Vlad closed his eyes and tried to slowly relax his body and mind. Lunch time. He had hours till then, but he couldn't afford to be strung out by the time he got there. So till then, he'd work on evening himself out

ML: Long chapter! Enjoy it! Enjoy it, I say! Also, thanks again for all the positive feedback, guys! It really raises our spirits as writers when the readers like what we're writing! So much thanks and love for all your reviews! We lurve 'em! Next chapter's coming in a week! Until then!


	5. Chapter 5 The Beginning of the End

A/N: Pix here! More fun stuff in store with this chapter. More character development for Melody and Ryder, really. Also, this chapter kinda lays down the foundation toward the formula ML and I created for most chapters. And another thing, sorry about not responding to reviews last week. I was freakishly busy, but I did find some really good advice in one of them. So that's awesome! Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Nope. We don't own the show's characters. The rest is ours, though!

Previously In The Collector: Like new animals at he zoo, Danny and Vlad found out that they were the new attractions to be displayed for ghosts in the museum. Tempers coming to a boil at their revealing, the two half ghosts fought each other until they realized fighting was exactly what the Collector and the crowd wanted. On a brighter note: they have an escape method in mind. When the guards come in to get Ryder after lunch, the plan is to attack the guards and flee. We'll see how far they get with that one.

Chapter 5 The Beginning of the End

"This isn't going to _woo-ork_," Melody said mockingly in a sing-song voice at the lunch table.

"Especially with that wonderful attitude," Vlad muttered before taking a bite of glowing mush.

"Come on!" Melody sighed, her shoulders dramatically slouching as she pinned Vlad and Danny with a look that outright told them they were morons. "Do you really believe this plan is going to work? Honestly. Just tell me."

"No," Vlad answered. "But-."

"Then why the hell are we-?"

"You know, you'd be considered wiser if you didn't talk so much," Vlad said with an amused smile. When all Melody did was glower back at the man in a cute but vicious kind of pout, Vlad chuckled mainly to Danny, "Well, that shut her up." Getting back on track, he said, "As I was saying, this attempt does not have to be a victory or success to work. It is basically a learning experience. Trial and error, so to speak, will teach us how to escape. We need to know what we're up against."

"Yeah. I know that. But it takes too much _time_," Melody argued. "Can't we just put our heads together and think of something more surefire than whacking out some guards and running? It all seems too lackadaisical."

"Do you really believe that this dysfunctional group could be able to plot out an entire escape that wouldn't fail in only the matter of a few days or weeks?" Vlad asked with a disbelieving chuckle.

"No," Melody growled, looking away in defeat.

"Good," Vlad said good-naturedly. "Then we're all on the same page then."

Danny silently watched the exchange between Melody and Vlad as he shoveled the gunk into his mouth as quickly as he could. His hunger had finally gotten the best of him, and he caved into eating the glowing mush about two seconds after it had hit his plate. The good thing was the stuff was pretty filling. He hadn't even eaten very much of it, and he was already getting stuffed. Probably all those "nutrients" Ryder had mentioned earlier. Speaking of Ryder...

"Hey, where's Ryder at?" Danny asked, stopping just before he could take another bite of food. He glanced around the room for a moment before settling his gaze back on Vlad and Melody. "I didn't seem him. Did he even sit down yet?"

An unhappy shout stopped all three humans at the table from saying any more on the subject. They instantly recognized the voice as Ryder's.

"Give it _back_!"

Danny leaned to the side to peer around Melody, and his eyebrows rose when he saw Ryder chasing after a tiny, blue ghost with glowing, red eyes and spiky hair. Just as Ryder flung himself at the little ghost in a full body tackle, the ghost blinked his eyes, disappeared on the spot, and reappeared just out of Ryder's reach.

The thief hit the ground hard on his stomach with his arms stretched out in front of him. He slowly lifted his head and glared daggers at the laughing, blue ghost.

"I'm gonna kill you, Chauser!" Ryder seethed as he pushed himself up to his hands and knees. He stopped for a moment, expression thoughtful. "I mean...kill you again! Yeah!"

That said, Ryder leapt back to his feet and tried to grab the blue ghost, Chauser, again. The attempt was unsuccessful because the ghost simply blinked once more and teleported itself behind Ryder, leaving the man to grab nothing but air. Growling in frustration, Ryder charged after Chauser, continuing to shout at the top of his lungs.

Danny silently leaned back upright. He tried to keep his mouth shut, but he couldn't ignore the obvious elephant in the room. "Uh...does this happen often?" he asked, shaking his head slowly. Ryder always seemed to be doing something weird.

Melody whipped her head back around to look at the inquisitive Vlad and Danny, her expression showing outright frustration. She looked like a bossy older sister who just saw her little brother get in trouble for the 10th time that day as she exploded with a sigh and stabbed moodily at her mush.

"It's that damn spoon collection of his," she growled at the two in explanation. "The little kleptomaniac steals them when he can, and sometimes the ghosts steal the spoons from him when they're bored and need some entertainment."

"Well, will you stop him?" Vlad asked with a frown.

"Why should I?"

"Because his yelling is more obnoxious than when he's simply talking."

"I'm not everyone's mother," Melody retorted. "This isn't freaking Neverland, and I sure as hell ain't Wendy."

Rolling his eyes and going back to his food, Vlad grumbled to himself, "How did I get stuck in here with two rebellious teenagers? And I thought one was enough."

"What do ya mean? Ryder's gotta be 30 or so, and Melody's about twenty somethi- Oh, you meant me. Man, is _my_ face red," Danny droned as he dramatically placed a hand against the side of his face in pretend woe.

Panting heavily, dark cheeks burning red, Ryder leaned his hands against the end of the table. He jabbed a finger at Vlad and Danny and growled through his loud breaths, "Can you kill a ghost? There's gotta be a way to, like, disintegrate them or something, right?"

Without waiting for a response, he turned to look at Melody. "Mel," he whined, staring down at the girl with wide, blue eyes. "He took it. Chauser took it, and he won't give it back! And I can't catch him! A-a...an' I need it!"

"Whoa, what'd he take, Ryder? A spoon? You can have mine if you want," Danny butted in when he saw the man's eyes actually water up with tears. Whatever the ghost had taken obviously meant a lot to him if he was gonna cry about it! And Danny wanted to avoid that at all costs if he could.

Ryder turned his head, biting down hard on the inside of his cheek. "M-my...my ring. I need it back, and he won't give it back. He never gives my stuff back," he explained, voice cracking slightly as he did.

Swallowing her food, Melody placed her spoon down and got up from the table, mumbling halfheartedly, "Fine. Alright, Ryder. I'll help...but just this once. You know I don't like talking to those stupid ghosts. All their cold death creepiness and grossness. Just...ew." As she said this, the girl gave a shiver and pulled a disgusted face.

"Wait a moment," Vlad said, looking back and forth between Melody and Ryder with confusion but also with high curiosity. "I thought you said you weren't going to help him. Why now?"

Leaning across the table with a smirk, Melody lied with fake graciousness, "Just to spite you. Because believe it or not, Batman, but you're 'superior' intellect does get kinda intolerable sometimes. Goodness, would you fancy that?"

"Is it because of this ring he's talking about?" Vlad asked with an undaunted grin. In some small way, he enjoyed ruffling the Ice Queen's frosty feathers a bit.

Pointing to Vlad, Melody said with finality, "You can just shut up." Turning to Ryder and pointing at him, she commanded, "And you, you show me where the twerpy ghost Chauser is before I change my mind."

A relieved smile came to Ryder's face, and his shoulders sagged a bit. "Thanks, Mel," he murmured gratefully. He reached out and grabbed her arm to pull her away from the table and in the direction the ghost had gone. Danny watched them walk away, chewing benignly on his food.

He raised an eyebrow when he spotted Chauser perched atop the roof of Melody's cabin. The small ghost was doing a very good impression of a glowing, blue monkey.

"Y'know, she makes a good point," Danny commented, smirking a little when Ryder yelled a curse up at Chauser to get his attention. The guy was persistent, that was for sure. Danny glanced at Vlad out of the corner of his eye and added with a grin, "Your superior intellect does get kinda annoying sometimes. I always knew it didn't just bother me."

"If you know what's good for you, you should probably shut up too," Vlad shot back before shoving another spoonful of mush into his mouth.

Meanwhile, Melody was busy choosing her tactics as she looked up at the little ghost parading all over her cabin's roof. Putting her hands on her hips, she commanded Ryder to back off and to quiet down. "I got this," he told him confidently. Then she glanced back up at Chauser with a beaming, perfect smile.

In a split second, Melody had changed from a manipulating, cold girl and transformed her entire demeanor into a welcoming sweetheart. "Hey there, Chauser," she said with a girlie wave. "You look pretty cool up there. Mind if I join you on the roof so we can have a little chat, buddy?"

Blown away by her sudden and convincing switch of attitudes, Vlad said with a little bit of impressment in his voice, "Oh, she's good."

Danny grimaced at seeing Melody's form of attack. "Yeah, good at being creepy," he muttered with a frown. "I really hope she doesn't do that 'valley girl' voice very often. I'm pretty sure there's only room for one person with a multiple personality disorder in here."

The teen saw Ryder cross his arms over his chest and back away as Melody had told him. He didn't exactly look happy about it, but he was listening for the time being. It was obvious that whatever this ring was held great importance to the man. Danny couldn't help but wonder what that meaning was.

Chauser leapt forward and crouched on the very edge of the roof, peering down at Melody with his narrowed, red eyes. After a pause, a devilish grin slid across his face, displaying two rows of perfectly white, pointy teeth. "Sure thing, human girl," the ghost called back down to Melody. His voice was surprisingly deep and dark compared to his meek appearance. Chauser patted the roof beside him and hissed, "There's plenty of room up here for the living. If you can make it, that is."

Danny narrowed his eyes as he closely watched the interaction. He wasn't sure how well he trusted that ghost. He clenched his hand around his spoon as he waited to see what happened.

Melody nodded, saying, "Cool. Be up in a sec!"

Knowing that by now everyone was watching her, Melody couldn't help but smirk to herself as she backed up a little to give herself some space for a running start. Her eyes calculated her next move with precision before she ran up to the small cabin, crouched down, then leapt gracefully into the air. Her hands found a hold on the roof's sloped ridge, and she hung there for a moment to center herself. Then, with a deft twist of her body, Melody swung herself sideways, found purchase on the roof with a foot, and flung the rest of herself onto the roof so that she was standing there with her hands on her hips.

From his seat at the table, Danny gave a slow nod and admitted, "Ok, that was pretty cool."

"Now," she said to Chauser, a little out of breath but still smiling from the rush, "About that ring. Why'd you steal it, dude? I know you don't need it. Is it because of Ryder?"

Chauser blinked up at Melody for a moment before he hunkered down in his crouch and gave her a disdained sniff. "Partly," he answered through clenched teeth. All of his words hit sharply on the 's' when he spoke. He peered over the edge again at Ryder who glared defiantly back up at him.

Straightening up again, Chauser said, "I've been trying to steal something from him that he cares about. Annoying creature he is. Always taking things that don't belong to him. I finally found something he cherishes." He held up the small, red ring in his palm and grinned evilly, "That is why I took it. To teach him a lesson about stealing from me. I don't intend to return it if that is what you have come here to convince me of doing."

"Psshh," Melody said with a wave of her hand. "_That's_ what you stole? I thought it was another spoon. Gawd, it's butt ugly!"

Sitting herself down with her long legs extended out in front of her, Melody laughed and said, "And I climbed all the way up here and showed off to everyone for nothing. Can you believe that? It's just a dumb ring. Ha! It's even plastic. Useless, actually. Ryder probably got it from a cereal box, thought it looked pretty, and so kept it. I can actually see that happening, he can be sooo dumb."

Brushing her hair behind a shoulder, Melody shrugged and continued, "But, hey, if you think it's important to him for whatever reason, go ahead and take it. The guy is kinda annoying."

"Hey! Uncool!" Ryder protested from down on the ground. He'd heard that comment about being annoying.

Chauser simply frowned and looked down at the ring in his hand. He bounced it up and down momentarily, uncertainty flashing in his red eyes. "Plastic?" he muttered under his breath. He didn't know much of the human world, but the museum had helped him to learn a few things. "But I saw him..." the ghost trailed off, frowning deeper.

He spat out a curse and shuffled his feet as he glared off to the side. "The human is most bothersome," he grumbled. "Not very intelligent, either. I should've known from the spoon collection." Chauser rolled his eyes and silently gritted his teeth together with a soft clacking sound. "Useless plastic," the ghost went on, shaking his head from side to side. "What should I do with it then?" he demanded of Melody, scowling back at her.

Melody leaned back and pretended to think. "Well, I don't know," she finally said, shrugging. "Maybe give it to a kid who might actually like it." As if suddenly an idea hit her, she leaned toward Chauser and said with a conspirator smile, "Oh, give it to the new halfa kid, Danny. He'll want it more than you. Besides, it's not like any of the other ghosts will take it off your hands, and Danny's half ghost, so it's not like you're betraying your kind or anything."

Getting up and brushing off her hands, Melody concluded, "Well, unlike you, I have lunch to finish. See you around, Chauser."

That said and done, Melody jumped off the roof, stuck her landing, and walked over to Ryder. Once she was close enough to the man, she whispered under her breath, "Just turn around. Don't look at him. Trust me, Ryder. I got this."

"But what about the-" Ryder broke off when Melody sent him the look. He snapped his mouth shut and nodded before forcing himself to turn around and follow her back to the table. They both sat down, Ryder slumping forward to cross his arms over the table and bury his face into them. He trusted Melody, but where was the ring?

Danny stared across the table at the two thieves, his eyebrows furrowed. He glanced up towards the roof Chauser was on, but the ghost was no longer there. The teen stiffened up when he felt a cold chill rush down his spine, and he spun in his seat to stare into the red eyes of Chauser.

The ghost glared right back at him from where he'd perched on the end of the table. His small hand shot out, wrapped around Danny's wrist and pulled it towards him. Danny struggled for a moment but froze when Chauser pried his hand open and shoved a red ring into it.

"Here, take this," Chauser ordered. He released Danny's wrist, sent one final glare over his shoulder at Ryder, and disappeared with a blink of his eyes.

Danny stared at the spot the ghost had been before opening his hand up and looking down at Ryder's ring. His eyebrows rose when he realized it was just a plastic _Power Ranger_ ring. That was what had gotten the man so upset? He probably got it out of a gum ball machine!

Clearing his throat, Danny glanced up at Ryder who still had his face buried in his arms. "Hey, Ryder," he called, smirking just a little.

"Mm' what?" the thief mumbled without raising his head.

Danny chuckled and slid the ring across the table as he said, "I think this is yours."

Ryder lifted his head up, his eyes instantly widening when he saw the ring. A grin shot to his face as if it had never left, and he snatched the ring up, holding it tightly to his chest as if it was the most precious thing in the world. "Yes, yes, yes!" he crowed, letting out a hoot of laughter as he slung an arm around Melody in a tight, one-armed hug. "Thank you, Mel! You're awesome! I'd kiss you if I knew you wouldn't punch me!"

Melody had been in the middle of eating when Ryder suddenly wrapped his arm around her. She almost spat out her food in surprise, but she quickly gulped it down, composed herself, and managed a satisfied grin. "Your act of refraining is very appreciated, Ryder," she muttered with a small, genuine laugh.

Soon as she said this, Melody's eyes met with Vlad's. The man was studying her, a tinge of perplexity on his face. For some reason, this sudden show of affection from Ryder embarrassed Melody. The girl blushed a little before scrambling out of Ryder's hold on her, saying more sternly, "Alright. That's enough hugging me for one day. Jeez, I'm gonna smell like you for the rest of the week now."

Going back to her food, Melody flashed Ryder a perky smile and said in a sing-song voice, "You now owe me one."

"Hel-eck yeah!" Ryder instantly agreed as he grinned back at Melody. "More like four! I owe you four!" He nodded to himself and reached down the front of his shirt to grasp the silver chain hanging around his neck. Danny shifted his eyes away from Melody and leaned forward a bit to peer at the necklace as Ryder quickly pulled it up and slid the ring back onto it.

Hanging on the necklace as well as the ring was a bullet, a tooth, and a key.

Danny fought down his curiosity to ask why those things were on the necklace and instead questioned, "Ryder, what's up with the _Power Rangers_ ring?"

The man didn't miss a beat as he said, "I like the _Power Rangers_." Ryder smiled and shoved the necklace back beneath his long-sleeved shirt. He patted his chest for a moment, closing his eyes as he gave one, firm nod. The thief turned back to face Melody and put a hand on her shoulder. "Really, thanks, Mel," he sincerely murmured. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, ok?"

Danny sat back in his seat and smiled to himself as he watched Melody and Ryder. At first, Melody may have seemed cold and mean, but someone who climbed on a roof to help out their friend like that...well, they couldn't be all that bad.

Melody flashed Ryder a quick, sweet smile before going back to her food. Second away from eating a spoonful of mush, her eyes widened in realization. "Wait," she said, a little worried. "What time is it?" She looked back at Ryder, as if expecting and mentally willing him to vanish like he normally did each day after breakfast and lunch.

The smile slowly dissolved from Ryder's face as his eyes widened. "Oh...crap," he whispered.

_Ding!_

Everyone at the table stiffened up when the obnoxiously cheery sound rang throughout the room. It actually sounded like a buzzer congratulating Ryder on figuring out that he was screwed. The doors to the display cases swung open once more, allowing the ghosts to return to their personal displays.

Ryder's breathing got harder as he realized he hadn't had time to plan ahead. He wasn't gonna be able to hide properly. The thief didn't even bother to try and distract Danny and Vlad from seeing him. He didn't have time for that.

Ryder tried to leap up from the table's bench, but slammed both of his knees into the bottom of the table in his haste to hide. Two, loud thumps were quickly followed by Ryder sprawling onto the ground as he lost his balance. "Freakin'! My knee!" he yelped as he clutched the body part. "Both knees, actually! Guh!"

The man was tempted to lay there for a while, but the sound of another door sliding open caught his attention. Ryder's breath caught in his throat, and he shoved himself back to his feet, eyes connecting with the ghost guards as they came into the room.

There was a moment of silence before Ryder held up his hands. "Wait, wait," he said, taking slow steps to the side to stay away from the ghosts. "Go back out and come back in, please. I didn't hide yet. You need to close your eyes and count to ten. That's how this works!"

The ghosts shared a glance before rolling their eyes and going after Ryder. Sensing his impending doom, the thief wisely turned and ran for it.

Seeing Ryder take off in a sprint and the guards sigh before taking chase, Vlad placed his palm on the table and leaned in between Danny and Melody as he whispered with a twinge of excitement, "That's our cue. Miss Hart, be ready to grab Ryder and run for the door. Danny, you're with me. Let's go."

The group at the table suddenly split. Danny and Vlad ran after the guards to cut them off as Melody walked quickly to the door to the hallway the guards had left unattended. Just as the ghost guards were catching up with a hysterical Ryder, Vlad threw a ball of ectoplasm energy at the two without having to turn human. Crying out from the unexpected attack, the guards fell to their sides in surprise and confusion.

"According to Melody, all we need are their security passes to get through the door," Vlad told Danny as they advanced upon the ghosts. "So just get the card and run. Also, try not to turn ghost. The last thing we need is the Collector in our heads when we're trying to escape."

"Right," Danny agreed tersely as his hands began to glow with green ecto-energy. "Get the cards and go. Just like muggers. Really, really, awesome muggers."

Ryder had skidded to a halt when he heard the ghost guards behind him cry out. His jaw hung slack as he watched Danny and Vlad come towards them, looking highly dangerous and ready for business. In an instant, a grin shot to his face, and he punched the air victoriously. "Dam-ang!" he shouted after hastily correcting himself. "'Bout time someone did that!"

The thief pointed at one of the guards as he slowly rose back upright. "That's for not playing by the rules! I warned you!" Ryder declared with a smug smirk.

Danny rolled his eyes a little, charging up the energy in his palm as he aimed it at the dumbfounded looking guard. "He makes a good point," the boy commented before blasting the ghost directly in the chest. The attack sent him sprawling out onto the floor with a cry of pain.

Moving quickly forward, Danny knelt down and phased his hand through the guard. He grasped the security card and yanked it away from the groaning ghost. "Got it!" he shouted and hopped over the ghost as he ran for the exit. He knew Vlad would be close behind him, and they needed to make this quick.

Ryder stared between Danny and Vlad, confusion marring his expression. "Wait...what's going on? What's that thing? Where are you going?" he demanded, standing completely still. "Did I miss something?"

Two steps behind Danny, Vlad shook his head as him and the teen sprinted right past Ryder, on their way to the door. He didn't even bother updating Ryder on their escape plan. Thankfully, Melody had appeared by Ryder's side. Grabbing his arm, she forced the man to keep her quick pace as she told him, "Just follow us. We're getting out of here."

Vlad skidded to a stop by the double doors. He watched as Danny held his card to the reader/scanner. There was a small _bleep_, but nothing happened. Frowning, Vlad held his up on his side's reader, it was scanned, a _bleep_, and again nothing happened.

"Gawd, I'm surrounded by morons!" Melody cried as she caught up with them, pulling Ryder in tow. "Both of you have to scan your cards at the same time for the doors to open."

"Because I didn't figure that out after the second time it didn't work," Vlad growled back sarcastically. Pointing to Danny, he ordered, "On three, we scan our cards. One. Two. Three." Both cards were properly scanned this time, and the double doors moved into the walls with ease. The quiet, plush hallway of the museum awaited them beyond the doors, calling them to their freedom.

Instead of feeling triumphant like he knew he should have, Vlad only frowned some more. _It can't be this easy_, he thought with suspicion. _It is never this easy._

Upon seeing their freedom waiting out in front of them, Danny let out a sigh of relief. "Man, I was expecting this to be way harder," he commented in hopes of quelling the rising paranoia he was feeling.

Without saying another word, the group quickly dashed out into the hallway. Their steps were wary, breaths held tightly in their chests. They knew they didn't have much time to waste before the Collector realized what had happened and came for them.

Unfortunately, their suspicions about the escape being too easy were correct.

Not four steps into the hallway, the group had to skid to a halt as a metal wall slammed down in front of them, cutting off their path to freedom and crushing their rising hopes and dreams. As they spun to head back the way they'd come, another wall slid from the ceiling and boxed them in. Darkness was quickly broken by the flashing of a red emergency light that allowed each of the four humans to stare at each other with varying expressions of surprise, anger, and frustration.

The moment of tense silence was broken by Ryder muttering, "Um...this isn't part of the plan, is it? This doesn't seem like a very good plan at all."

With an explosive sigh, Melody folded her arms across her chest and leaned against one of the cold, metal walls. Flashing Vlad a chilling smirk, she boldly told him, "I told you so."

"Alright! Fine!" Vlad shouted, his anger and frustration clearly showing in his voice that echoed menacingly off the metal walls. "The plan was horrible, but I didn't see you coming up with anything...or...or devise some mortifyingly imbecilic plan like Clueless over here," he practically snarled at Melody while throwing a hand up to indicate Ryder. "All of you are proving to be useless!"

The man seriously wanted to punch someone at the moment, but he managed to refrain as he started to pace the small holding pin they were now trapped in like a caged lion. He knew he had just lost his temper...again. Running both his hands through his silver hair, Vlad forced himself to calm down before he did something he'd regret. He needed to get back in control, but he couldn't help but think this entire situation was just one royal disaster.

Danny kept his wary eyes on Vlad as the man began to pace back and forth in their new prison. His gaze unwillingly slid to Ryder who looked completely unaware of the situation as he ran his hands across the metal walls around them. Vlad was right. The man really was Clueless.

Sighing a little to keep his cool, Danny glanced at Melody out of the corner of his eye before shaking his head and looking away. He knew she probably didn't have anything productive or helpful to say. That left only one option.

He needed to say something. Something not sarcastic or "childish."

_Oh man,_ the teen thought with a silent roll of his eyes. _This is gonna get real old real fast. _

Danny closed his eyes for a moment before stepping forward and looking at each adult around him right in the eye. "So...ok, that plan didn't exactly work," he said slowly, frowning as he spoke. "But it's not like we can just give up. The first plan never works on television, right? Gotta fall down to get back up and all that stuff."

The boy attempted a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Not to mention, only Ryder even tried to return it. Shaking his head quickly, Danny clapped his hands and said, "So what's our next plan?"

A/N: Heh, they are gonna have to go through a lot of plans to escape. I'll say that much. And some of them won't be so delightful. Yup. Anyways, hope you guys liked the chapter! ML will see you guys next week with the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6 Food for Thought

Edit: So for some flippin' reason, the italicized words weren't showing up. Fixed 'em now so you can know when the Collector uses his power and stuff.

Disclaimer: We don't own the DP characters.

Previously on The Collector: The group learned that escaping the museum isn't going to be as simple as just walking out the front door. One escape attempt down and they're still rarin' for more. So let's join them on that journey, shall we?

Chapter 6: Food for Thought

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Ryder adamantly shouted.

As a response, there was a collective and simultaneous, "_No!_"

"For the last time," Vlad sighed listlessly. "We're not using that silly game to decide who it's going to be."

"Then what are we going to do?" Melody asked. She donned a fake cheery smile as she gave her two cents about the subject. "Personally," she began while placing a hand on her chest, "I believe the oldest should have superiority. That's how things got settled at my house. Oldest get the privileges, and it's tough luck to the younger ones."

"Don't lie," Vlad sneered at her. "You're just saying that because you don't want to do it yourself."

"It's true!" Melody protested.

"Right. Sure," Vlad said with a nod, smirking slyly.

"_Gawd_, you're annoying!"

"But I'm right. And that's all that matters," Vlad said.

"Trust me, Melody," Danny said as he crossed his arms over his chest and let out a sigh. He was sprawled out on his back on top of one of the picnic tables, staring at the ceiling as he listened to the adults bicker. That was starting to become a bit of a habit. "Vlad thinks he's _always_ right. You might as well just agree with him or he'll never shut up."

It was breakfast time, and the group didn't have long before they had to head off to their display cases for the day. They really needed to make a decision soon or they'd never get anywhere.

Danny blew a sigh out of the side of his mouth and muttered, "How about this? I'll pick a number between 1 and 10, and the person who guesses farthest away has to do it."

Ryder, still sulky from being shot down so many times, grumbled back, "But then you could cheat. You'd know the number, and you could totally cheat." The man paused and slouched down further in his seat at the adjacent table as he added half-heartedly, "Can't cheat in rock, paper, scissors. It's all skill."

"Enough with the rock, paper, scissors," Vlad said sternly to Ryder. "We are not doing it, and that is final." Turning to the others, Vlad continued, "But Ryder is actually right. One of us could cheat if we used Danny's method. What we should do is let fate decide. We'll draw straws."

"I don't think-," Melody started warily. She really didn't want to be the unlucky one.

"We're not doing it your way, Miss Hart," Vlad told her. "If we did, then Danny would have to do everything around here. Although I wouldn't mind him picking up the slack, I have to admit it's not fair. So it's either drawing straws the fair way or something different but just as equally fair. Any objections?"

Before Ryder could open his mouth, Vlad said without even looking at him, "And don't you dare bring up rock, paper, scissor again, Ryder. I mean it."

Ryder slowly closed his mouth and dropped his chin onto the tabletop as he breathed, with clear awe in his voice, "Batman's a mindreader."

Smirking to himself because of Vlad's obvious annoyance, Danny shrugged and said, "I don't see anything wrong with drawing straws. No one can cheat that way, I guess." He lifted his head up a bit and added dryly, "Not to say I don't trust any of you not to cheat, but...I don't trust any of you not to cheat.

Shooting Ryder a swift glare, Vlad quickly got over his annoyance and stood up from the table. He'd been finding it easier to ignore or remain less irritated with the man lately. Producing a smile, Vlad said as he leaned over into Danny's eyesight, "Well, I don't blame you, Daniel, for not trusting us, but there's not much to worry about. It's nearly impossible to cheat at straws."

The man walked over the breakfast window nearby, got some straws from one of the ghost servers, and walked back to the group. "The brilliant thing about it is the fact that it's all up to luck," Vlad said as he touched the end of each straw and burned off a piece with his ectoplasm power until there was a wide range of heights.

Making sure they all looked the same from the top, Vlad folded his hands around the bottoms of the straws while saying arrogantly, "Unfortunately for all of you, my family has been blessed with luck throughout the ages. How else do you think I've become a millionaire? Of course, a lot of it had to do with going the right schools, knowing the right people,...and having other abilities that I possess, but I do have to admit that some of it was by pure chance and luck. So I'm confident that-."

"You're rambling," Melody suddenly butted in without an ounce of grace or tact.

Putting his hand on his hip, Vlad glanced over to Danny and grumbled, "And that is what I get for taking your advice on being nice and sharing about my life. Go on and be proud of yourself, boy."

"Just let us pick the straws already," Melody said. "That stupid bell is about to ring, and we need to do this before lunch time."

"Alright," Vlad said with a sigh. Leaning forward, he presented her with the arrangement of straws while saying with a smile, "Ladies first."

"Yoink!"

Before Melody could even think about picking a straw, Ryder's hand shot out and snatched the first one away. He sat back in his seat, staring proudly down at his chosen straw. When he felt the eyes of the rest of the group on him, he shrugged with a grin. "Sorry, I like to go first. Going first is good luck. Wait..." He paused as if to deeply think about what he'd just said before he nodded and smiled again. "Never mind! Yep, going first has always served me well in the past!"

While Melody and Vlad were distracted looking at Ryder like he'd just beamed down from Mars, Danny sat up and pulled out his own straw. He didn't exactly believe what the man had said about going first, but he preferred to make his choice before the two manipulators got a chance.

It was more fair that Vlad and Melody had the last options, in his opinion.

"For the record," Danny began as he met Vlad's eyes. He flashed a sarcastic grin. "My advice was to smile, not bore us with your life story."

"As a defense on my part," Vlad growled back, "What you said was a suggestion."

Looking back at Melody, Vlad noticed she had picked her own straw. She expertly twirled it absentmindedly in between her fingers as if it was mini baton before noticing Vlad and Danny were watching her. Quickly, she stopped spinning her straw and said impatiently, "Well, let's see who the unlucky winner is."

Everyone held up their straws to compare which one was the smallest. There was an uncanny and uncomfortable silence as everyone realized who it was.

"That can't be right," Vlad murmured more to himself than to the others, scratching his head as reality slowly dawned on him. Pride had blocked the initial blow, but soon full realization was going to come crashing through.

"Mmhmm," Melody said, a satisfied grin crossing her lips as she studied Vlad's tiny straw. "Fate's a bitch, but oh how I love her style."

Danny shared a grin with Melody. He really had to agree with her on that point. Vlad had definitely had that one coming after all the bragging he'd done.

Ryder leaned back in his seat, a wide smile adorning his features as he tossed his straw up in the air and caught it. "I guess that's what you call _Vlad_ luck. Heh, get it? 'Cause it rhymes with bad?" He nudged Melody with an elbow, chuckling happily to himself at his clever joke.

Melody tried to support her friend with a pity laugh, but not even that could be uttered as she scrambled for a smile. Vlad, on the other hand, just glowered at the man as if he was having a heated battle between choosing to blow the man to smithereens or deeply pity him. Before he could decide, time chose for him.

_Ding!_

Snapping out of his scowl at the sound of the overly-cheery bell ringing, Vlad realized his time to make a valid argument was up. He mentally cursed the bell as everyone got up from the tables. "Wait," he started lamely. He knew it was a poorly planned lie, but it was so in his nature to try and get out of things he didn't want to do that the words just came out naturally. "You can't possibly believe that I'll actually go through with this," he continued with a forced laugh.

_You are screwed_, he mentally told himself. His plan was the sinking Titanic, and everyone knew it. Still, it wasn't like the man to go down without a fight.

Danny glanced back at Vlad when the man gave a pathetic attempt at trying to weasel his way out of this. He arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest as he pointed at the man. "Hey, you were the one who suggested it, V-Man," he stated, an evil grin coming to his face off its own accord. He just really couldn't help but enjoy seeing Vlad put into this position that came about because of his own actions.

Danny looked for support from Ryder, but found that the man had disappeared the moment the ding had sounded. He heard the guards enter the room, but this time there was more than two of them, and they looked ready and willing to hurt anyone that tried to escape like last time. The Collector had upped his security after their failed escape attempt three days ago.

The teen turned back to Vlad and finished with, "Either you do it or it's not getting done."

_Either I do this or it's not getting done_, Vlad thoughtfully repeated, his dispassion written clearly on his face and in his slumped posture.

And this continued to be Vlad's mantra well into the morning. He paced their glass cell, mentally talking himself in and out of doing it. On one hand, it was demeaning and stupid. Why couldn't he convince someone else to do it? Couldn't be _that_ hard. Then on the other hand, it needed to be done, and he had some pride to uphold. Besides, it'd be too tricky to get anyone else to do it now. Furthermore, he couldn't just back out of his own escape plan simply because he didn't want to get his hands dirty.

Vlad wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. His usual decisiveness had somehow vanished, and it was starting to deeply frustrate him.

While Vlad spent his time pacing and nervously muttering under his breath, Danny leaned back in their cell and relaxed. Watching the man that had caused him so much stress in the past under as much stress now was definitely satisfying. Danny knew he probably shouldn't have been enjoying it so much...but he was. Immensely so.

Smiling to himself, the boy placed his hands behind his head and chuckled. "Dude, calm down," Danny told Vlad with obvious amusement in his voice. "It's just a little gross food, well, technically a lot, but it's still just food. What's the worst that could happen?"

Stopping his pacing, Vlad looked up at Danny as if noticing him for the first time since getting locked into the display case that day. The man instantly picked up on the boy's smug and terribly pleased attitude. Danny practically flaunted the fact that Vlad had mistakenly put himself into an uncompromising and embarrassing situation. The teen didn't even have to say anything; his relaxed posture and snarky smile said it all.

With a curl of his lip, Vlad folded his arms across his chest and said, "It's not the actual act that bothers me. It's the principle of the matter. You see, adults don't like to be degraded by shoving that many pounds of food into their mouths. A teenager like you might not understand what that even means. And of course I know it's considered a sport to some, but I particularly question those people's sanity. Therefore-."

Vlad was about to go on, but he could see he wasn't making any headway through Danny's resolved pleasure at seeing his enemy embarrass himself. Sighing, Vlad said defiantly, "Oh, you're adoring this, aren't you? Want me to fetch you some popcorn?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to ruin your appetite by watching a teenager eat," Danny replied with a challenging smirk. The guy was just making all of this harder on himself. He was totally blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Their escape plan did rest on what Vlad needed to do, but the act of it wasn't an impossible task.

He'd personally watched Tucker try and beat his own personal Nasty Burger eating record before. Tuck had gotten up to twelve burgers or so before he'd caved. Danny laughed a little as he remembered how he and Sam had been forced to drag their practically comatose friend back to his house after it was all over.

The teen ran a hand through his hair and shook his head at the fond memory. Focusing back on Vlad, Danny grinned and added, "It's only gonna be embarrassing if you barf. So just don't barf. Easy enough, right?"

Vlad did nothing but stare at Danny with a look of disgust for a full 30 seconds before snapping out of his repulsed daze with a sharp shake of his head. Giving a mirthless laugh, the man said with sarcastic, spiteful flare, "The whole point of looking sick by eating too much food, Daniel, is coming to the point of vomiting."

Turning away with a sigh, Vlad said more to himself than to the teen, "I swear, I will never pick straws again. This is utterly ridiculous."

-Few Hours Later-

"This is utterly ridiculous," Vlad muttered under his breath, placing his head in his palm. He watched with dismay as Melody, Ryder, and Danny piled their plates of glowing mush onto his own. The three wore big smiles that couldn't be withheld, not even for the life of them. The man began to massage his forehead with one hand, still at a crossroads on whether he was going to eat it all or not. He kept his eyes on the tower of mush. Vlad didn't want to see his cellmates' gloating expressions.

"This is utterly awesome, actually!" Ryder corrected Vlad with the biggest smile to date. He laughed happily under his breath and clapped his hands as he leaned back on the bench to admire the huge pile of mystery mush. "Oh,_ man_, this is so fun. This is the funnest thing that's happened since we got here! Ha! I wish I had a camera right now! So awesome!"

Danny shared Ryder's enthusiasm, but he wisely stayed quiet as he leaned forward to look into Vlad's face. He'd made sure to sit at a safe distance from the man, but close enough that he could still see everything. He was worried the man really would barf. He already looked a bit queasy.

"It's not gonna go anywhere unless you eat it, Vlad," Danny reasonably said, mostly just to annoy the crap out of the man. He held up both hands when Vlad turned a simmering glare on him. "Hey, just sayin'."

Ryder laughed again and pounded his fist against the table as he declared in a shout, "You can do it, Vladster! Do it! Do it!"

Taking his glare off Ryder so he could concentrate, Vlad turned his eyes at last to Melody. She sat rigidly on the edge of the table, her smile gone and face pale. Giving her a mild scowl, Vlad asked her, "Don't you have some vindictive comment stashed away somewhere you'd like to grace me with?"

"Sorry to disappoint," was Melody's quiet answer.

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Vlad asked, "What's wrong? Usually you're the first to embellish us with your enmity."

"Look, I just don't...I don't like it when...," Melody wavered while wrapping her slender arms around her waist. Swearing to herself, she decided to just come out and say honestly, "I get queasy watching this kind of stuff, okay? It's disgusting."

Then it dawned on Vlad. The reason behind Melody trying so hard to wiggle her way out of partaking in the plan previously wasn't exactly due to what was in her nature. Melody genuinely hated and maybe even feared what the plan was. He could see it on her face; she was more sick than he was.

"Then we'll see who vomits first," Vlad said to Melody with a vicious smile.

With that said, Vlad picked up his spoon, sized up the pile of goo on his plate, and swiftly but methodically began to eat from it.

"Oh, _eeugh_, Mel," Ryder said with a grossed out expression. He quickly stood up and took a seat beside Danny on the tabletop across from the two weak-stomached ones. He didn't trust either of them not to vomit all over the place. The thief sniffed and shook his head as he glanced down at Danny. "What wimps," Ryder muttered before focusing back on Vlad.

He had to give the man credit. He was certainly eating the stuff quickly. But the question wasn't how fast he could eat, it was how much he could before losing it.

"I bet ten bucks one of them tosses their cookies before we have to go get Vladster two more plates," Ryder told Danny with a grin.

Danny didn't say anything for a moment before he returned the man's smile and shot back, "Ten bucks Melody barfs before Vlad."

Giggling like a little schoolgirl, Ryder replied quickly, "Ten bucks Vlad yacks _way_ more than Melody does!"

"You're on!" Danny laughed as he shook Ryder's hand. The two grinned at each other before focusing back on the show. Neither of them had any money, but Ryder was right. This was the most fun thing that had happened since they'd been brought here.

Not even five minutes into the eating and Melody chickened out. Placing a hand on her mouth, she murmured, "Gawd, I can't take this anymore. The last thing I need today is to join Vlad at the infirmary. I'm going for a walk. Tell me when he gets carted off."

So with her arms wrapped almost protectively around her midriff and her face the pale color of peas, Melody took her leave in a hurry. Vlad watched her go for a moment before focusing back on eating the quickly diminishing pile of food before him. Eating it was getting harder and harder with every bite. His stomach protested with every forced, painful swallow.

Vlad knew he wasn't going to last much longer, yet still he managed to keep eating with determination. He found it easier now that Melody was gone. It was more comfortable, so to speak, to act like a guy around only guys, he assumed. Still, he felt beyond awful. The worst part was knowing he was the one bringing the sickness on himself.

For any normal meal at the museum, Vlad could usually clear half his plate to feel full and to prevent himself from gagging on the nasty taste. The Collector had designed the food to be eaten in small doses for a reason, Vlad speculated; that's why it was so vile tasting. Suddenly, Vlad wondered how his body would react to stuffing four or more whole servings into his system in one sitting. His body's reaction might be worse than simply upchucking the stuff. He could be overdosing on something.

And with that scary thought, Vlad totally lost it. Turning away from Ryder and Danny, the man bent over the picnic seat he was on and puked.

In unison, both Danny and Ryder threw their arms over their faces to cover their eyes and shouted, "Oh, gross!" Though, they'd been expecting Vlad to throw up, they hadn't really been prepared for it to happen so quickly. Or as violently.

Danny had to keep a hand shoved over his mouth so he didn't repeat the process of barfing. There was something very sickening about seeing someone else lose it right in front of you. Not to mention, it was one thing to joke about it, and a completely different thing to actually see it.

"I think I might throw up too," Danny gasped out as he hopped off the table and moved quickly away from the scene of the crime. He placed his hands on his hips and breathed in heavily to quell his rolling stomach.

While Danny tried to keep himself from throwing up as well, Ryder recovered quickly and warily stood up as he looked at Vlad. Safe to say that the man wasn't looking so good at the moment. The whole green complexion wasn't something that Ryder would recommend he repeat on a day-to-day basis.

"Hey, Vladster," Ryder slowly asked as he raised an eyebrow. The smell of puke hardly seemed to be affecting him as he inspected the half-ghost before him. He wanted to know if the guy was even capable of continuing. It certainly didn't look like it at this point. "Ya think ya can eat anymore? There's still a little bit on the plate there in case you missed it."

Glancing up at Ryder, Vlad mumbled out between gasps for breath, "I...hate...you."

Then he threw up again, stomach clenching painfully as he retched up more of the foul meal. Afterwards, Vlad winced as his head went into a dismal spin. The whole world looked like it was melting away, and every one of Vlad's muscles tightened before he threw up a third time. By this time, Vlad felt almost too weak to keep himself upright. He kept his eyes closed to try and focus his mind. He couldn't black out. The entire point of this plan was to be conscious while being taken to the infirmary.

"You better...get some...one," Vlad managed to say through his pain. He didn't care if he was addressing either Ryder or Danny. It was now safe to say that his body wasn't reacting in a normal way to the horrible food. Feeling close to passing out, Vlad growled at anyone who was hearing, "Now!"

"Ok, ok!" Ryder yelped, holding both hands up to calm the man down. He could tell that this wasn't funny anymore. Something was seriously wrong. "Danny, come keep Vlad awake. I'll go tell the guards." He hurried quickly towards the food window and called over his shoulder, "Move it or lose it, kid! Which I realize is a really bad thing to say at the current moment but I can't exactly take it back!"

Danny unwillingly returned to Vlad's side once Ryder had run off, careful to stay at an arm's length from the guy. It didn't help that there was puke everywhere. The boy grimaced as he quietly assured Vlad, "It'll be ok. Just stay focused. You can do it."

The teen glanced up when he heard the guard doors swoosh open, and a large group of ghosts moved inside with a rolling stretcher. They didn't hesitate to hurry to Vlad's side, jabbering anxiously to each other as they tried to figure out what happened. This wasn't a situation they were used to. All they knew was that they needed to get the half-ghost to the Infirmary fast.

Danny was thrown aside as a pair of ghost guards pulled Vlad out of his seat and shoved him down onto the stretcher. They didn't look too concerned about his comfort as they hastily spun him around and headed back for the exit. Within moments, the large squadron of guards and Vlad disappeared out into the hallway, their voices fading as the doors closed.

Danny looked up when he felt Ryder appear at his side. The thief's eyes were locked on the door, his expression drawn and serious. It was weird to see him so quiet and thoughtful looking.

After a moment, his gaze flicked down to Danny, and he patted the boy's shoulder and said, "He'll be ok, don't you worry. He'll probably bust back in here any moment now...any second now...just you wait. It's gonna be awesome."

Meanwhile, Vlad was being carried to the Infirmary on the stretcher. Keeping this mission somewhere in mind, Vlad forced himself to memorize exactly the way to the room. Once there, he was barely coherent enough to look around as the guards swiftly retreated from the room, leaving Vlad and his sick self alone.

Through narrowed eyes and battling against the wrenching pain in his stomach and searing heat rushing through his body, Vlad peered around at the plain, simple room shaped as a bare box. A cabinet sat to the side, filled with basic medical supplies one could easily find in a first aid box. He was on a springy, small cot with starchy white sheets.

In all of five seconds, Vlad had fully taken in his bland surroundings. In a way, Vlad didn't know why he had expected more than just a little room in the corner of nowhere in the museum. Then again, live human attractions were new to the place, so the room could be temporary.

Laying back against the cot, Vlad resisted another wave of nausea with a pained groan. He couldn't escape now even if he wanted to. Just the thought of getting up and using his legs made Vlad want to hurl again. Pressing the palms of his hands over his eyes, the man tried to ride out the sickness the best he could.

Only a few moments later, the door swung open again and the Collector strode quickly inside. His eyebrows were drawn into a deep, concerned line, and wrinkles were spreading across his forehead from just how much he was frowning.

Without so much as waiting for a greeting, the ghost slammed the door shut and pressed his hand flat against Vlad's burning forehead. The Collector's frown deepened further, and he hastily pulled his hand away after deeming that the human had a fever. He stared silently into the half-ghost's eyes as if deeply thinking of something.

"Why in the Ghost Zone would you dare to eat that much of my food, Mr. Masters?" the Collector slowly muttered after a long silence between them. Before Vlad could reply, the ghost let out a sigh and ordered tersely,_ "Transform into your ghost half."_

Wincing as his only form of protest, Vlad instantly morphed into his ghost form. Almost instantaneously, Vlad could feel his body's pain ebbing slowly away. Releasing a long, steady breath, Vlad glared over at the Collector. It took a lot of the man's willpower to stay on the cot. Naturally, his mind and body told him to bolt and get out of there now that his enemy was nearby. He chose to remain silent partly because there wasn't much to say in his current situation and partly because his throat burned from throwing up so many times.

_"Don't move,"_ the Collector sternly told Vlad, looking completely unfazed by his silent glaring. The ghost didn't even wait to see if the man obeyed him as he turned away and rubbed his temples. He placed one hand on his hip and squeezed the bridge of his nose with the other.

"I don't understand it," he finally murmured after releasing another soft sigh. The Collector tilted his head back and stared blankly at the far wall, keeping his back facing Vlad. "Two escape attempts. Two in a matter of four days. Why? It doesn't make sense." His hand traveled to the back of his neck, and he appeared to rub a bothersome kink out of it.

"I bring you here to be admired, I treat you as well and properly as I am able to. I allow you to socialize with others, and you return my kindness with-with..._utter_ disrespect!" The Collector's voice rose to a shout, but he still somehow managed to keep an underlying calm tone. He seemed to be able to show both anger and restraint at the same time.

The ghost closed his glowing eyes, shoulders slowly slumping as he let out a long breath. He slowly rotated on his heel and looked down at Vlad again, his expression devoid of emotion. _"Explain it to me, Mr. Masters,_" the Collector said, his eyes flashing with his suppressed annoyance. _"Explain your actions to me now."_

Giving the ghost an small, insolent smile, Vlad answered with pretend politeness, "You see, sir, I ate too much of whatever substance you deem as food, obtained food poisoning obviously, and managed to find myself here and immobilized. That's as plain as I can describe my most recent actions."

The Collector's blank expression cracked for a moment as his true frustration flashed in his eyes, and a snarl quirked up his lips. He quickly managed to gain control over himself again, and he slowly unclenched his fists as he blew out a billowing breath like he was a raging bull about to charge.

"Let me...rephrase myself," he whispered, voice shaking with quiet rage. He leaned over Vlad, glaring right into his defiant eyes with his own glowing ones. _"Tell me why you want to escape, Mr. Masters."_ The ghost shook his head, adding in a dark tone, "And do not disrespect me again. I will not tolerate your attitude for much longer, halfa. We both know it is unwise to try my patience when you can't even move to defend yourself."

The Collector leaned away from Vlad and stood to his full height so that he could look down on the man. He quickly recovered his earlier poise and brushed a hand down the front of his spotless suit as he casually placed a hand in his pant pocket.

_"Now...answer me truthfully."_

There was a pause as Vlad's brain automatically and with little consent came up with the right words to answer the ghost's question. Though he obeyed without an ounce of hesitation, Vlad made his vexation clear by the harsh, scathing tone in his voice.

"I want to escape because, despite my ghostly alter ego, I'm still very much human," Vlad said brusquely in something close to a snarl. "Unlike _you_, I have a_ life_. It's a good, luxurious life I've worked hard to gain and maintain. And if you think I'll throw that all away to simply sit in a glass tank like a mindless goldfish for the rest of my life, then you're surely mistaken.

"My life isn't some ancient artifact you can collect and put in a picture frame for everyone to see. What can I say, mister _Collector_? I'm a selfish, stubborn man. My life is mine, and I'm not giving it to anyone. And I'm especially not giving my life to you and your asinine museum."

That said, Vlad smirked darkly back at the Curator, silently him daring the ghost to do something drastic. All Vlad wanted was to see the ghost weaken, and cracking him under the pressure of anger was his best bet. Stuck in his immobilized and ill state, Vlad's only weapon in the room was his powers of manipulation and wit, so he was going to use them as much as he was allowed.

The Collector's eyes flashed, and he forcefully slammed his fist down beside Vlad's head. _"Do not call me that!"_ he seethed, baring his teeth in a fierce expression. _"Never call me that again!"_

Shaking with rage, the ghost forced himself to pull back and step away from Vlad before he did something he would regret. He would never harm an item in his museum. They were too valuable to willingly destroy or hurt in any way. But this was something new for the Collector. He'd never wanted to physically harm his displays because they had never angered him before. He wasn't quite sure what to do and that frustrated him.

The Collector ran his trembling hands down the front of his suit again as he stared at Vlad, frustration and confusion clear in the furrow of his eyebrows. He had to remind himself that he had asked the halfa to explain his actions. That was what he had wanted, and now he had to react accordingly.

The ghost took a few, shallow breaths and nodded slowly. "I see...I understand," he murmured, trying to move past the insult Vlad had so blatantly told him. He wet his lips as he forged on. It sounded like he was speaking mostly to himself as he said, "You are just confused. That's all. Just confused. You'll come around...eventually. You'll understand that you belong here. I'll make sure of it."

Flashing a nefarious smile full of contempt, Vlad sneered, "What a pathetic lie. You don't understand. If you had an ounce of comprehension, you wouldn't have chosen to display humans of any kind in your museum. No, sir. What you are is someone who has never been said no to. This new development is making you angry, confused, and obdurate.

"Don't try to play games with me, Curator," Vlad continued with a malicious undertone in his voice. "Because once we start, I warn you now that I won't stop until I win, and I don't play fair. If you push me hard enough, I swear I will destroy you."

_"Be silent!"_ the Collector snapped back at Vlad, his eyes flaring again with whitish energy. His chest rose and fell as he tried to fight down his rising anger. He didn't like what the half-ghost had said to him. He didn't like how much the human seemed to know. It was...unnerving.

The ghost closed his eyes for a moment before slowly opening them. He stepped forward and stood over Vlad as he murmured, while pointing a hostile forefinger at the half-ghost's face, "I am not playing any games with you, halfa. I have told you my stance and the nature of my museum. I have made it perfectly clear why you and Mr. Fenton belong here, and you are not leaving. That is final."

He gave a firm nod and stepped around the cot as he headed for the door. _"Do not move until I return and remain in ghost form unless you wish to die from your own stupidity, Mr. Masters,"_ the Collector gruffly called over his shoulder. He opened the door and disappeared out into the hallway without another word.

Closing his eyes, Vlad let out a long, strained sigh. His heart was hammering inside his chest from all his anger and unease. He'd gone out on a limb to make the Curator so furious like that. Not knowing nearly enough of the ghost's personality to predict his actions, Vlad didn't know what the Collector would have done to him once Vlad had made him angry. It had been a big risk, but to Vlad it was very worth it. Though the escape plan was another failure, Vlad had gathered some information that could be used later on.

In only the matter of minutes, the man had composed himself again and laid calm and motionless on the cot. Though his body remained still, Vlad's brain was moving full force now that the effects of the food poisoning were wearing off. Like a movie reel repeating itself over and over again in his head, Vlad exhaustively reviewed his conversation with the Collector until he was able to pull the right information out of it.

Opening his eyes to stare purposelessly at the ceiling, Vlad thought with sudden irritation,_ Damn it! How long do I have to lay here?_

ML: Aww, poor Vladdy. Did he deserve that? Did he really deserve it? …Yeah, he kinda did, but you still feel kinda bad for him, right? Right? …Yeah, not really. Maybe some day! But right now, that man definitely deserved that one! Haha! I hope everyone loves the Collector as much as I love writing for him. It's super fun because he's so not-human-y and stuff! Ahem, I'm calm now. So yes! As usual, thanks for the reviews, and we'll have another chapter coming along next week! Till then!


	7. Chapter 7 Princess BigBut Makes her Deb

A/N: Pix here again...and because of technical difficulties, I'll probably be the one to upload the rest of the chapters. For some reason the italics haven't been working for ML's uploads, and italics are really important in this fic, so I just decided to take over the editing completely.

Anyways, enough about the boring stuff. Another fun chapter here! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yeah...those Danny Phantom characters. We don't own 'em. The rest are ours, though.

Previously In The Collector: Luck didn't shine very brightly on Vlad last time we heard from him. After eating copious amounts of glowing mush as an odd choice of escape attempt, Vlad was sent to the Infirmary with a fever and food poisoning. While there, he had a stressful encounter with a confused yet very angry Collector. We left off with Vlad being ordered to remain still on his cot until the Curator returned...which took a long time.

Chapter 7 Princess Big-Butt Makes Her Debut

"How long has it been?"

"How long has what been, Ryder?"

"How long has it been since Vladster got dragged away? It's gotta be hours by now, right? I mean, I know escaping is hard and stuff, but should it take this long? Like, it's Vlad! Batman would never take this long, would he? You don't think he left us, do you? He wouldn't do that, would h-"

"Ryder, chill out!" Danny interrupted the man before he could go any further. Danny, Ryder, and Melody were currently eating breakfast...or they were trying to, at least. Though, most of them were trying to hide it, they were all acutely aware of the missing person at their table. It was so painfully obvious. "I'm sure he's...fine."

Danny couldn't help but glance pensively at the empty seat beside him as he let out a soft sigh and shoved a spoonful of mush into his mouth. He didn't want to admit that he was as worried as Ryder, but he certainly was. He worried that something had gone wrong with the escape plan, that something bad had happened to Vlad, or that the man had actually left the museum without coming back for them.

_Vlad wouldn't do that, though_, the boy tried to assure himself as he shoved food around his plate. _I mean...he might. It is Vlad-no, no, he wouldn't just leave us like that. He couldn't._

Ryder let out an explosive, worried sigh as he dropped his spoon onto his empty plate and spun in his seat to stare hard at the door Vlad had been dragged out of the day before. It was obvious in the hunch of his shoulders that he was extremely worried for Vlad, but he was trying to be quiet for the sake of the table.

As if she couldn't care less, Melody methodically ate her food with small, precise bites and with a jaunty air all about her. In reality, she was in the same boat as Ryder and Danny. From their description of Vlad's ill condition when he was taken away, Melody knew the situation was serious. Anything could have happened.

Still, she couldn't allow herself to look frazzled around the others, though worry ate her stomach the more she thought about the man's long absence. In a way, Vlad had become something like a leader or a rock to their group. Of course, he was a mean, prideful kind of rock; nonetheless, he somehow stabilized everyone with his serious determination to escape and his usual calm control.

Melody wondered what would happen if Vlad never came back. What would she do? Would she have to become the leader? The girl didn't know if she was prepared for such a task.

Suddenly, the door to the main hallway opened up. The group all looked up in surprise to see Vlad being escorted into the room by two guards. But what they noticed the most was Vlad's dark glower and fisted hands full of ectoplasm energy as he marched toward them. The man was obviously pissed.

"Vladster! You're not dead!" Ryder exclaimed, leaping to his feet the instant he saw Vlad enter the room. A wide smile bloomed across his face as he prepared to rush forward and hug the man tightly, but Danny caught the back of his shirt at the last minute and held him in place before he could. He'd already been hugged too many times by the man to recognize when he was about to attack someone with a hug. The boy really wanted to spare Vlad the feeling because he did not look happy. At all.

Warily standing up as well, Danny gave a timid smile as Vlad approached them. He couldn't deny that seeing the guy brought him massive amounts of relief. Vlad hadn't ditched them after all. That was a nice realization.

The teen slowly dropped his raised hand as he asked, "Hey...um, what happened?"

"Yeah! Aren't you supposed to be, y'know, escaped an' all?" Ryder questioned, tilting his head curiously to the side . He had the expression of a confused-looking puppy down pat.

"Did you get punished or something?" Melody chimed in, watching Vlad closely as he came to a halt at their table. When Vlad pinned his scathing glare on her, Melody sheepishly went back to her eating, grumbling moodily, "Come on. I was just asking. Don't get mad at me for doing nothing but being a little curious about where you've been like everyone else at this table has."

Looking down at his glowing fists, Vlad forced himself to draw in his power. With a short sigh, the energy faded and Vlad sat himself down wordlessly at the picnic table. Rubbing his forehead, Vlad finally growled out, "The escape attempt didn't go according to plan. Apparently, the Collec-. Mmm. Dammit." After a short pause, the man continued, "I found out that the Curator is the doctor. If you get sent there, you get a nice chance to chit-chat with the ghost."

Heaving a heavy and depressing sigh, Vlad stared ahead as he started to massage the kink out of his sore neck. His entire body ached from hours upon hours of being frozen on that cot.

The table was silent for a few moments after Vlad had stopped talking. It was obvious that everyone was pretty much thinking the same thing, but it was an awkward subject to bring up.

Danny cleared his throat, deciding to be the one to voice all of their silent questions. Vlad knew him best. Maybe the guy wouldn't bite his head off for asking. He looked up at Vlad and quietly asked, "Did he...he didn't hurt you, did he?"

Hearing this, Vlad looked up and pinned Danny with a irritated scowl. He opened his mouth to snap something back, but he caught himself before the words came out. Now that his anger was subsiding, Vlad noticed the serious and worried mood around the table. Everyone there was watching Vlad with a mix of concern and fear. Some hid their emotions better than others, but it was clear that they had worried over Vlad's absence and were still uneasy and confused about what had went down in the Infirmary.

The feeling of having others concerned for him in some way was odd for Vlad, especially then when it looked like everyone was in such a depressed state. At first he didn't know what to do or how to respond, but he quickly got over his uncertainty and softened his expression.

"No," he answered, shaking his head. "Besides being sore from him commanding me to freeze for 12 hours, I'm not hurt." Releasing a bitter chuckle, Vlad added, "Oh, but he really wanted to hurt me at one point. That's for certain. Let's just say I didn't make his job very easy."

Becoming more serious, Vlad looked down at his hands resting on the table. After a somber pause, he said quietly, "He did threaten me, though. He's not happy about our escape attempts, and he made that well known. If we continue to try and escape, be prepared to be threatened by him too." As he said this, Vlad's gaze landed on everyone's at the table.

When Vlad's eyes connected with Danny's, the boy didn't hesitate to nod firmly, his expression becoming serious. He couldn't tell if the man was worried (because he hid his emotions so well) but there was something about the tone of his voice that implied his hidden anxieties. And that was a big step up in the emotional department for Vlad.

"We understand," Danny murmured, glancing across the table and Melody and Ryder for their silent assurance. They both gave somber nods in response - well, Melody did at least. The teen looked back up at Vlad and smiled a little. "Heh, we actually already kinda thought of our next escape plan while you were gone. Well, technically, one of us did."

His eyes slid back to meet Ryder's, and the thief proudly crossed his arms over his chest and grinned.

Resting his head in one of his palms, Vlad regarded the rag-tag team before him with slightly raised eyebrows of surprise. Though he applauded them for finally coming up with something on their own, he was weary of it being solely Ryder's idea. The man couldn't be counted on when it came down to logical planning. Still, after 12 hours of silence by himself, Vlad was ready to hear anything from the group.

"Oh, this should fun," the man said, grinning slightly in amusement.

Completely oblivious to the sarcasm, Ryder held up both hands, palms facing out as he excitedly said, "Yeah! It's a great idea!" Pausing to compose himself, the man smiled back at Vlad, looking very much like a kid trying to please his stern father. "Ok, ok, so I was thinking about this last night before I went to sleep."

The man stopped once again to create dramatic effect as he leaned forward and seriously questioned, "How do we breathe?"

Grin widening, Vlad said with false excitement, "Goodness, I can tell you thought long and hard about this one!" Melody shot the man a fierce glare, but Vlad ignored her as he waved his hand flippantly, saying, "No, go on. I'm enthralled." The girl rolled her eyes, giving up for the moment. At least the man was listening.

Ryder's smile widened, and he nodded quickly as he leapt to his feet to balance lithely on the bench of the table. He pointed dramatically at the ceiling as he declared in a shout, "Air!"

There was a moment of silence before Danny, shaking his head slowly, muttered, "Ryder, just get on with it already."

"Right, yes, getting on," Ryder hastily agreed. He plopped himself back onto the bench and directed Vlad's gaze to the far wall of their holding area. A small, metal grate was just barely visible set high up on the wall. No one at the table would've noticed it if they hadn't known its exact location.

"An air vent, Vladster," Ryder pointed out, his smile wide and pleased. "Found it all by myself. We can totally get out through there." The man crossed his arms over his chest again and nodded once. "Told you I was fantastic."

Vlad stared at the newly revealed air vent opening, pleasantly stunned. After a minute or two of thought, he turned his eyes back to Ryder quizzically. Sure, climbing through an air vent to escape wasn't the most original or creative of ideas, but it was one of the first ideas Ryder had come up with that didn't suck. Actually, it could work. Vlad wondered if he was underestimating Ryder's intelligence, but he quickly shook the notion out of his head as a more pressing focus came into play.

"Who is going to climb through the vent?" he asked. With a tinge of relief in his voice, Vlad said, "It can't be me. I'm too big, but all of you could fit, I'm sure."

Though he looked excited enough to bounce up and down in his seat, Ryder calmly held up his hands and shook his head. "Hoh, no. It's not going to be me. Nope, nope, nope," he stated firmly, continuing to shake his head in denial. He simultaneously pointed at Danny and Melody and said, "One of you should do it."

Danny arched an eyebrow back at the man. "I still don't get why you can't do it. You're the thief here. Don't you do this stuff all the time to get into places?"

"I'm not doing it," Ryder instantly replied, eyebrows furrowing sternly. He added in a resentful pout, "You can't make me."

"Not this again," Melody grumbled, fed up with all the arguing over who was going to perform certain escapes. She felt like everyone was behaving like babies. "I thought we already settled this stupid issue. We'll just pick the straws again," Melody said.

"No," Vlad butted in.

"Why are you protesting?" Melody scoffed. "You don't even have the choice to partake in this-."

"We're not picking straws again," Vlad stated firmly. After his last experience with bad luck, Vlad didn't want the chance to be on the receiving end of it again. "There has to be a better method."

"Don't be a _sore_ loser, Batman," Melody snickered back.

"Oh, you're worse than Danny is with his horrible puns," Vlad sighed with exasperation.

"Hey, don't bring my awesome puns into this," Danny shot back stubbornly. He liked to think he had high degrees of wittiness considering his job as a superhero. Clever quips just came naturally to him.

Just before the table could delve into an argument, Ryder softly cleared his throat and waited until all eyes were on him. Only then did he lean forward, lower his voice, and say, "The time has come..." Ryder held out his hand that was curled into a fist and finished, "Rock, paper, scissors."

"Gawd! _Really_, Ryder?" Melody asked, clearly frustrated. She put her hands up in defeat as she shouted, "Ok! Fine! I don't care anymore! Let's just do that, because obviously we're just going to fight about this all through breakfast and not get anything done."

"Oh, because rushing into our plans last time worked out marvelously," Vlad teased.

"You're not helping!" Melody barked back. Vlad simply grinned in return. Sometimes it was just too easy to bother her, also he was just happy not to have to participate in the grueling part of the next escape.

"Let's just do rock, paper, scissors and be done with it, okay?" Melody offered to the others.

In an effort to avoid rocking the boat, Danny quickly nodded. "Yeah, rock paper scissors is fine," he agreed, attempting to flash a smile that didn't quite reach smile-standards. It looked more like a pained grimace. He stuck out his own fist and hesitantly asked, "So, ah, do you go rock, paper, scissors or rock, paper, scissors, shoot?"

"Just rock, paper, scissors, of course! No other way to do it." Ryder answered with a happy grin. He was so excited to finally get his way when it really mattered. The thief waited silently until Melody unwillingly stuck her fist out beside his and Danny's.

Smiling like a madman, Ryder rapidly shouted, while throwing his fist forward, "Rock, paper, scissors!"

-Lunch Time-

"This is a stupid plan," Melody grumbled, glaring up at the vent opening.

"No, it's not," Vlad sighed. Feeling like an annoyed coach trying to motivate a horrible team member to get into the game, he told the girl, "Be thankful you're not the one who had to puke their guts out for practically nothing. Now use Danny as a stool to get on our shoulders and get yourself into that vent shaft before I change my mind about going ghost and fly you up there myself."

Folding her arms and narrowing her eyes in a vicious pout, Melody debated briefly about defying the man. After careful thought, she realized that she wasn't going to wiggle her way out of this one, so she might as well suck it up and do it. Besides, she had lost, fair and square.

"Gawd! I hate all of you," she seethed as she came forward. Stepping onto Danny's back, she grabbed onto Vlad's and Ryder's shoulders to help steady herself as she then stepped up onto their shoulders, tennis shoes digging into the men's skin. "If you guys drop me, I'm so killing all of you," she threatened cooly.

Standing to her full height, she wobbled once before reaching up to the ceiling. From there, she grasped the ends of the vent's cover and wrenched it off before throwing it to the side and accidentally hitting Danny in the head. Smiling a little, she muttered, "Oops."

"Ow!" Danny instantly protested when the vent cover smashed down into his head. He pushed himself onto his butt and rubbed his tender scalp, glaring daggers up at the girl who had so purposefully injured him. "Yeah, thanks for that!" he grumbled angrily up at her. "Not like I let you stand on me or anything!"

"Stop...complaining," Ryder grunted as he struggled to keep from buckling under Melody's weight. He wasn't near as strong as Vlad was - mostly because people described him as a "bean pole." He was built for running away and squeezing through tight spaces, not letting people stand on him. It didn't help that Mel wasn't exactly trying to be gentle on his poor shoulders.

"Geez, Mel, how much...do you, ug, weigh?" the thief demanded as he desperately glanced at Vlad out of the corner of his eye. "Batman...I think-I think my shoulder's gonna break."

Face screwing up in indignation, Melody glared down at Ryder, picked her foot up off his shoulder, and lightly whacked him on the side of the head with it. "You don't ask a girl that question! Ever!" she told him furiously.

"Nneh!" Ryder protested after receiving the kick to the side of his head.

"For Pete's sake, Melody!" Vlad snapped back up at her. "Stop messing around up there before we drop you! Just so you know, I won't be here to catch you if you do. It will be your own fault."

"Then stop provoking me," Melody hissed under her breath as she gripped the sides of the vent opening. She bent her knees slightly before pushing off the men's shoulders and pulling herself up into the small entrance with a grunt of effort.

Once Melody had pulled herself up into the vent, Ryder backed away, holding a hand to his temple. "I didn't deserve that," he whined pitifully, rubbing his free hand against his sore shoulder.

Groaning softly, Danny pulled himself to his feet beside the man and grunted, "Yeah, neither did I." The boy could feel a lump forming on the back of his head thanks to Melody's actions. His glare came naturally as he stared up at the girl. Her butt and legs were pretty much the only things the three boys could see at this point.

"Wouldn't it just suck if she got stuck in there?" Danny sarcastically commented to Vlad as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Not like that'd be ironic justice or something like that."

"I heard that," Melody grumbled down at them as she crawled into the vent, painfully aware that all the guys were now looking at her butt that was hanging in the air. She was thankful none of them could see her cheeks flush pink in embarrassment.

"Mmm. Don't get your hopes up," Vlad said down to Danny, a mild grin coming to his features.

Once inside the vent, Melody assessed her situation. She came to two really quick conclusions: it was dark and dusty. Simply put: she was not pleased.

"Ew, ew, ew!" Melody squealed in disgust. "It's icky and gross in here! I don't want to do this anymore!"

Chuckling, Vlad called back up to her, "You never wanted to do it in the first place. Now get a move on! We don't have very much of lunch time left, and your whining isn't getting you anywhere."

"Of course it's icky and gross," Ryder complained under his breath. He glared straight ahead at the wall, still rubbing the side of his head. "Air vents are death traps. Small, painfully tight, dark d-d-death t-traps-" The man broke off as his breathing got harder, and his dark cheeks paled.

Vlad and Danny stared at Ryder, both their expressions confused and slightly weirded out. "Um..._yeaaah_," Danny finally agreed after a pause. He glanced back up at Vlad as if asking for help on what to say.

"Right," Vlad said, still looking at Ryder as if the man was an unstable explosive device. He caught Danny looking up at him and gave the teen a shrug. Who knew the complex of craziness that went on in Ryder's head? Vlad surely didn't want to know or cared to understand.

Looking back up at the vent opening, Vlad heard Melody grunting as she slowly made her way through the system. "How is it going, Miss Hart?" he called up to her.

"_Gooood!_ Just splendid!" Melody replied, her sarcastic voice having a tint of panic in it that Vlad instantly noticed.

"Is something wrong?" Vlad asked. Quickly, he added, "Besides the fact that you're probably dirty and it's dark?"

In the vent shaft, Melody hissed some colorful words under her breath as she tried once again to corrected her mistake. She hadn't prepared much for the mission, so she didn't know exactly how she was going to crawl through the shaft before getting into it. Thinking she could easily find a quick way to maneuver through the vents, the girl had squeezed too many body parts into one space while trying to find the quickest method and had evidently gotten herself stuck.

No matter how hard she tried to squeeze herself out of her predicament, the more she became stuck it seemed. Sweat began to pore down the girl's forehead as she took sharp, little gasps of hot, stale air. She tried to use the odious liquid to unstuck herself, but it was obvious by now that she wasn't getting out on her own terms. She was going to need help.

"Come on, girl," Melody whispered to motivate and calm herself down. "You can't do this now. Not in front of all the boys. You'll look like a moron, which is something you're not...obviously. Shit! This is bad."

From below, Vlad realized he wasn't hearing Melody move anymore. His eyebrows furrowed together as he asked, "Why aren't you moving, Melody?"

"I'm just slow, okay?" she barked back at him.

"You're lying. What's the matter? Are you scared? Are you-."

"I'm freaking stuck!" Melody shouted suddenly. At last her pride had given way and reason took a giant leap forward. "There! You happy now?"

Danny tried not to laugh. He really tried his best to just stay quiet and act like he was concerned instead of terribly amused, but in the end he couldn't stop himself. This whole situation was just too funny. Another escape attempt had totally just blown up in their face, and Melody was the one who was taking the brunt of it.

The teen tried to keep his mouth shut, but a few chuckles managed to squeeze through. He desperately shoved a hand over his face, struggling to stop the laughter that wanted to come out.

"And that, gentleman-" Ryder began, placing his hands firmly on his hips. He nodded. "-is why I didn't do it."

_Ding!_

And that was it. The annoying ding that just seemed to compliment Ryder's remark was the final straw. Danny started out just chuckling quietly, but the next thing he knew he was bent over laughing hysterically. "Oh my gosh! Ha-ha!" the boy shouted through his heavy breaths. "S-she totally deserves that! Ha-ha-ha!"

Vlad had managed a simple smile up until the point of the bell. Once Danny lost it, the man didn't last much longer. "Stop laughing," he chuckled the order to Danny. Striving hard to compose himself, he added, "This is serious. She's stuck and lunch time is over."

With sudden horror, Melody recognized what she was hearing below. "_Seriously_, guys?" she yelled at them. "You're _laughing_? This isn't funny!"

And that's when Vlad couldn't keep it in anymore. The situation was just so horribly planned and executed, and Melody truly deserved every last minute of it, that Vlad couldn't help but see all the humor in the mess. It didn't help that Danny was practically in tears beside him. Vlad burst out laughing as he said, "Some dreams do come true."

Danny's laughter got louder after hearing Melody's shout and Vlad's comment. "I so called it!" the boy gasped out, tears burning in his eyes from how hard he was laughing. He leaned an arm against Vlad, too caught up in his amusement to care that it was his archenemy he was using to keep himself standing. "Oh man!"

For the first time, Ryder ignored the bell signaling the return to his display case. This was mostly because he was enjoying himself way too much to leave. The fact that both Danny and Vlad were laughing encouraged him to laugh as well, and he quickly joined in.

"Hey! Hey, Mel!" Ryder called up to the girl as he propped himself up on Danny's shoulder. "B-bet you wish you'd thrown rock instead of scissors now, huh?"

"I'm going to kill them!" Melody seethed with fury and humiliation. Here she was crammed into a tight, dark, and dusty space simply because she lost rock, paper, scissors, and the boys had the audacity to hoot it up like it was some hilarious exhibition they were watching. Her already flushed cheeks burned redder as the guys continued to laugh at her.

"I'll kick your ass, Ryder!" she screamed down at the man, using her only free fist to pound on the vent's wall. All that did was disturb a layer of dust which made Melody cough. Growling in her frustration, she yelled, "I'll kick all your asses! Just get me down from here now!"

"Boy, she's really angry," Vlad chuckled as his laughter began to die down. "And _really_ stuck. How did she even manage to do that?" Grinning at the other two, he asked without much care, "What do you think we should do with her? Leave her?"

"Don't you dare think about leaving me!" Melody warned heatedly.

"We wouldn't dream of it!" Vlad called back up with a laugh. He was only half serious.

"I dunno," Danny mused as he took desperate breaths to stop himself from laughing. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, fighting hard to get serious again. "I think we should let her cool off her for a while. She does sound pretty mad. It'll be good for all of us."

Gasping slightly from how hard he'd been laughing, Ryder straightened himself up and grinned at Danny and Vlad. "I think we should totally leave her up there to _vent_," he quipped, smile stretching wide at how clever he was.

Danny stared up at the thief, managing to stay quiet for a few moments before he busted out laughing all over again.

Vlad put a hand over his mouth to smother another fit of laughter, which was pretty hard after such a good comment from Ryder and Danny's renewed laughter.

After a miserable groan, Melody shouted, "Oh my _gawd_, Ryder! Damn you! That's _not_ funny! Not funny at all! You guys are all morons! Stupid, freakin' morons!"

"If we're the morons, my dear, then how come we're down here and you're up there with your butt wedged into a ventilation shaft?" Vlad asked. All he got as a response was a furious, flabbergasted, and piercing scream. Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad looked at the others and said, "Oh, this is definitely more fun than I thought it would be."

"So true, Vladster," Ryder answered, letting out a soft round of amused chuckles. He honestly couldn't stop smiling at this point; Melody's threats having no affect on him. It wasn't the first time the girl had threatened to murder him and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Still laughing his butt off, Danny stuck out his fist, silently urging Ryder into a fist bump. After a pause, Ryder readily complied and lightly tapped his fist against Danny's, looking super excited to be included in something.

"Best. Day. Ever," Danny gasped out, dragging an arm across his eyes as his laughter finally, mercifully, subsided. The teen looked up and held a hand up for Vlad to high-five for his awesome comment. It was something he would've easily done with Tucker or Sam, and he didn't see anything wrong with doing it now.

When Vlad saw Danny raise his hand for a high-five, the man's smile wavered. He pressed his lips together in confusion, not exactly knowing how to respond or why Danny wanted a high-five from him in the first place. He assumed it was a natural reaction with his friends. But that was just it; Vlad wasn't Danny's friend.

At last, Vlad decided the teen had just gotten caught up in the funny moment. Nothing more; nothing less. So there was no harm done. Just an odd mistake on the boy's part.

Vlad shook his head at the boy to indicate he wasn't going to provide a high-five for him before taking a step forward and looking up at the vent opening to address Melody. Though it was fun to tease the snobby girl relentlessly, all fun had to come to an end. Someone was going to have to be the responsible adult and take measures towards getting her out. Vlad took it upon himself to be that person since he doubted either Danny or Ryder could manage it.

"Alright, Miss Hart," Vlad called up to her. "Stop screaming and calm down. We're going to try and get you out now." Turning to the others, Vlad asked, "Any suggestions?"

And that's when the door to the outer hallway opened up and a half a dozen guards floated into the room.

Frowning slightly at being shut down, Danny slowly lowered his hand. He glanced over his shoulder at the squadron of ghosts coming towards them and scowled a little. Vlad's reaction had helped to make him realize that this wasn't so funny anymore, and now the appearance of the guards just solidified that ideal. They'd failed to escape yet again and, though it was awesome that it happened to Melody, they were all in big trouble now. It wasn't time for jokes...or high-fives.

Sighing, Danny jerked his thumb back at the ghost guards and muttered, "Let them handle it. That's my suggestion."

"What's going on down there?" Melody asked, trying not to sound worried. "_Hel-lo_?"

Vlad glanced back up at the opening, realizing they were out of time. Though he felt a twinge of guilt for leaving the girl up in the vent simply because he knew the humiliating feeling himself and related to the girl's feeling of deflating pride, he didn't see many more options to take in this situation. It would be best for everyone to get to their display cases without causing much of a scene and leave Melody in the hands of the guards. Melody would probably be bitter and hateful towards them for a few days, but she'd just have to get over it.

_She can handle herself,_ Vlad decided with a nod.

"Leave her with the guards," Vlad told Danny and Ryder. "The last thing we need is more attention from the Curator."

"No! Wait!" Melody called out, this time trying hard to sound pathetic to win everyone's sympathy. "Don't leave me here! Please!"

Danny had just been about to follow Vlad when he heard Melody's pitiful cry. Her tone of voice made him stop in place, and he rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. He didn't like the girl, but that didn't mean he wanted to just leave her there without any reassurance.

"Don't worry, Melody," the teen told her, keeping an eye on the quickly advancing guards. "The guard's are coming. They're gonna get you out, ok?"

Before Danny could add anymore, Ryder calmly interrupted by patting his shoulder. "I'll stick around," he said with a soft smile. "Don't sweat it." Without waiting for a reply, he raised his voice so that Melody could hear him, "I'm right here, Mel! Don't you worry one bit. I'm staying right here on this very spot! I'm practically right beside ya in spirit!"

There was a pause as everyone waited for Melody's response. Inside the vent, Melody heaved a small, thankful sigh, grimaced in pain from the motion, then said sarcastically to keep up her cold and angry facade, "Goody gumdrops."

Now that her anger was dying down, Melody felt her worry start to kick back in. She had used the other negative emotion to keep the fear away, but now it was back as she heard the others leave. She really hoped the guards would get her out soon. She didn't like being alone.

Looking around in the darkness wearily, Melody thought glumly, _They're never going to let me forget this. Worst. Day. Ever._

A/N: Heh, I still can't keep a straight face every time I've read this chapter while I wrote and edited it. Oh, goodness. Melody really deserved every last bit of that. Ha ha! Well, ML and I will see you guys next weekend with another update!


	8. Chapter 8 Closet Confessions Part 1

A/N: So...yeah...last week I actually totally forgot to update. Not my fault, though! I was supposed to only do odd chapters, but I forgot I was doing all the editing now, and then there was Easter/Spring break and my personal responsibility levels plummeted drastically. Anyways! Sorry for not updating, but I'm sure to keep on track from here on out with a chapter per week. Also, I'm sorry about not responding to reviews lately. I get...distracted. Heh. This week, though, I wanna respond to everyone who reviews. So review away! That said, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: We don't own the Danny Phantom characters. The rest is ours.

Previously In the Collector: After a stressful run in with the Collector in a failed escape attempt, Vlad came back to the main room to be entertained with news of a new escape plan involving crawling air vents. Unfortunately, the one person they relied on to crawl through them, Melody, got stuck in the shaft before the plan could hardly begin. Hilarity ensued, but the failed plan won't prevent our dysfunctional group from attempting another escape.

Chapter 8 Closet Confessions Part 1

"Oh...my...god. This was a mistake. Mistakes were made, guys. Someone try the door! Try the door!"

There was a moment's pause after Ryder's shout echoed through the tiny room before Danny's squeaked out, "There's no handle!"

Silence again assaulted the ears of the group. The only thing that broke through the dark and cramped space was Ryder's increasing labored breaths. In an attempt to explore the small room they had ended up in, Danny stretched his arms out, searching for a light switch. His hands almost instantly rammed into someone and, due to the girly sound he received, he knew it was Melody.

_Well, at least we're all stuck in here together_, Danny thought in hopes of raising his spirits. "Can anyone find a light?" the teen asked. He couldn't see a thing, and he doubted that anyone else could, either.

"Lights aren't going to help!" Ryder yelled hysterically. Danny was thankful that the guy sounded like he was far enough away in the tiny room to avoid getting hugged by him. "Please open the door! Someone please, please, _please_ open the door!"

Resting his forehead against the wall he was shoved up against, Vlad let out a long sigh before saying irritably to Ryder beside him, "Calm down, Ryder. We will get out soon enough, and you having a complete and utter melt down over nothing won't help the process get along any faster. Danny, you're near the door. Find a way to open it, and do it soon." This last sentence was strained as Vlad was nearing the end of his patience with Ryder in such a close proximity to him.

"Or at least find a light," Melody said in frustration. "Because whoever keeps bumping into me needs to be punched in the face."

"Calm down," Vlad ordered sternly again. He could feel the mood of the room growing more towards anxiety and annoyance. If they didn't get out and get some space soon, Vlad knew things were going to go dramatically downhill. "Danny, open the door. _Now_."

"I already tried!" Danny snapped back at wherever Vlad was. He seemed to have the most personal space at the moment, but that didn't mean he was the one who had to do everything! It wasn't his fault they were now stuck in this stupid room! "There's no handle, in case you didn't hear me!"

Ryder let out a barely suppressed wail as he pressed his hands flat against the walls around him. His gasping breaths got louder as the panic of claustrophobia began to sink into his brain. He wanted to stay calm, he really did, but he just couldn't. Not when he was able to feel the walls on both sides of him, not when it was so dark he couldn't see his nose on his face, and not when Danny was telling him there was no way out of this room.

The thief's hand clamped down hard on Vlad's shoulder without him even realizing it. He just needed to hold on to something. "I-I ca-can't bre-eathe," Ryder gasped out, clenching his eyes tightly shut. "T-t-too dark. T-too dark."

When Danny heard this, he squirmed around so that he was facing the "door" and placed his hands against it, trying to phase through it. Like he'd been expecting, nothing happened. "Crap," he muttered under his breath, running his palms across the smooth surface of the door, desperate to find anything to open the stupid thing. "I can't freakin' open it. There's no door knob and no lights, and this room's ghost proof for some reason!"

"Ohhh, great!" Melody said loudly. "Just great!"

As she said this, Vlad was busy trying to get Ryder off him by pushing him roughly away. His personal space was already being squished inward, and now it was being blatantly intruded upon. "Ryder!" he yelled at the man warningly. "Get off! Get off me now!"

Instead of letting go like Vlad had demanded, Ryder instinctively latched down tighter onto Vlad's shoulder. The man was shaking all over, and hyperventilating didn't even begin to cover how quickly and loudly he was breathing. "P-please open the door," Ryder whimpered, eyes still squeezed shut so that he was at least choosing to see nothing.

Danny let out a shaky breath as he turned back around to face where the voices were coming from. He immediately felt horrible that Ryder had gotten trapped in this small closet. The guy was terrified, and Vlad wasn't helping him in the least.

"Leave him alone, Vlad!" Danny ordered, knowing that he needed to defend Ryder. He doubted the dude could defend himself at the moment.

"It is kind of hard to do so when the man is practically using me as his comfort blanket!" Vlad yelled back, still trying to peel Ryder off him. Sighing in exasperation, Vlad said, "What is wrong with you? Get off of me! This is the worst time to panic!"

"Hey! Stop yelling at him!" Melody butted in, turning toward where she was hearing Vlad's voice and the scuffle between him and Ryder. "I already told you he has claustrophobia. It's not his fault that he's freaking out right now, so give him a break, okay?"

"I don't care if he's afraid!" Vlad barked back. "Seriously, I do not care. I just want him off me. He can go have his panic attack in the corner. It doesn't matter. Just get him off me before I-."

"Move, stupid," Melody growled at Danny as she shoved him aside to get to Ryder and Vlad before it was too late to stop them. She threw herself into the tangle of arms and legs, shouting above both their yelling as she tried to rip them apart, "Stop it! Ryder, let him go! Vlad, stop shoving!"

The room was quickly devolving into chaos. That was all that Danny could think. He had no idea what was going on, but from the shouting it didn't sound good. It didn't sound good at all. The teen literally had no idea what to do. He knew if he got involved, it'd just make everything worse, but he couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

He had to do something! Even if things got worse because of what he said!

Danny clenched his hands into fists and shouted, "Everyone shut up!" As he screamed, he lifted his right hand up and let green ectoplasm burst into life in his palm. The light from his power allowed Danny to easily see the three adults currently fighting each other like crazy alley cats.

Ryder flinched away from the light, releasing Vlad as he did so that he could crunch himself in the corner like Vlad had suggested. He wrapped his trembling arms around himself and lowered his head, trying his best to hide the tears running down his cheeks. He didn't want anyone to see that he was crying. He didn't cry a lot, and he didn't want them to see, no matter how painfully obvious it was. He could still deny it if they ever got out of there.

Danny pointed his glowing hand at Vlad and growled, "Back off." Without waiting for a reply, he jabbed his hand at Melody. "And cool it."

Vlad and Melody both shared the same expression of surprise and scorn for a moment, both of them seconds away from shouting at Danny for butting into their struggle when it was clearly none of his business. But the feeling died away in Vlad the moment he glanced down at Ryder huddling in the corner all by himself. In a way, Danny's outburst had reclaimed the authority and compromise that the room currently needed. Shouting some more would just cause harm.

Brushing off invisible dust from his shirt, Vlad muttered calmly, "I'm fine as long as people don't exceed their boundaries of my personal space."

"Well, I'm not fine!" Melody yelled at Vlad. Snapping her attention back to Danny, she pointed her finger in his face and told him, "Don't you dare tell me what to do." Lashing back at Vlad, the girl addressed him harshly as she said, "And you! What right do you have shoving Ryder like that?"

"He was draping himself all over me," Vlad defended himself. "What was I supposed to do?"

"He's terrified! Can't you see? Couldn't you at least let him calm down before you threw him off you?"

Squeezing his eyes shut and curling his hands into fists, Vlad growled out in frustration, "Stop! We have to stop arguing like this! It's pointless! It really does not matter, and it's not helping us get out. You want to help Ryder? Then shut up and think of a way out of this damn closet."

"There isn't a way out," Danny muttered, leaning his back against the door as he let out a tense sigh to keep himself calm. He hated all this stupid arguing, and it was tearing him up inside to see Ryder acting the way he was. Sure, the guy could get on your nerves sometimes, but he just looked so pathetic at the moment. Danny would've tried to comfort him, but he had no clue what to do. It was extremely frustrating.

Blowing out another breath, Danny said, "We're just gonna have to wait until someone finds us...the Collector's gotta figure out that we got out at some point, right?"

Danny winced when Ryder squeaked out a soft sob and covered his face with his hands. _Ok, maybe I could've said that a little bit more positively_, the boy thought, grimacing and rubbing the back of his neck with his non-glowing hand. "I mean..." he trailed off, not exactly knowing what to say to amend what he'd already said.

The teen closed his eyes before unwillingly looking over to Melody and quietly asking, "Can you...do you know how to calm him down?" Danny gestured towards Ryder, his eyebrows furrowed deeply in concern.

Taking her narrowed eyes off Vlad, Melody glanced over sympathetically to Ryder before sighing as if in defeat. "I don't know," she said. As she walked over to the corner he was in and sat closely next to him, she said, "Usually talking to him distracts him, but I'm not sure if that's going to work right now."

There was a long, awkward silence between the group as they considered what they could do. Finally, to break the quiet uncertainty, Vlad leaned against the wall and said as calmly as possible, "Then we'll just have to talk and wait for a rescue." Glancing over to Ryder, he lied specifically for the man, "It should not take long. The Curator was expecting us to try another escape, and we're obviously not in our display cases. We'll be out of here in no time, I'm sure."

Ryder didn't react to what Melody or Vlad said. He just crammed himself tighter into the corner and pressed his forehead against his bent knees, shoulders shaking as he tried not to cry too obnoxiously.

Danny's shoulders slumped as the pathetic levels rose. He'd seriously never seen something so sad looking before. Ryder was totally rivaling a cute puppy with a hurt leg at this point. The teen slowly slid down to the floor and closed his eyes as he held his hand up so that he could keep illuminating the room. It was the least he could do for everyone.

In an effort to distract himself from Ryder, and keep up a flow of conversation, Danny glanced curiously up at Vlad. "Why do you keep saying that?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow as he did. "I know his name's the Curator but you never said that before. You just started doing it like a week ago. What's up with that?"

Looking down at Danny, Vlad frowned in aggravation, but the deep seeded hatred wasn't directed at the teen. Vlad didn't think anyone in the group would have noticed the change, but he guessed Danny knew him well enough to pick up on it. In a way, the man didn't want to tell everyone the truth because he thought it made him look weak. In the end, though, Vlad knew it was better for the group to understand why him and Danny needed to avoid transforming into their ghost forms. It was too dangerous; the repercussions would be long term, and they all needed to understand that.

Scowling at the ground, Vlad finally answered with a bitter undertone, "The Curator ordered me not to call him by his other name that day I was sent to the Infirmary. This was while I was in ghost form."

"Oh..." Danny winced visibly, trying his best to hide the unease burning in his gut at hearing Vlad's explanation. He couldn't believe the power the Collector had. He'd told Vlad not to do something once, and the order had stuck with him even when he wasn't in ghost form. That scared him. He almost didn't even want to use his powers for fear of somehow coming under the Collector's spell again and being forced to do something permanent like Vlad.

"That's...that...ouch," the teen mumbled, lowering his eyes to stare anxiously at the floor. He ran his free hand through his hair a few times, trying his best to hide his nerves from Vlad and Melody. He had to keep a strong front when he was around them or he knew they'd walk all over him...more than usual.

This whole time Melody had been watching Vlad and Danny interact with interest. Since the first day she met them, she'd seen neither of them turn ghost. Sure, they'd used their powers plenty of times while remaining human when they thought no one was looking, but the two avoided fully transforming into their alter egos at all costs.

Up until the current point, Melody had just thought the two were being too cautious about the entire deal and believed their ideals would eventually wear off, but this single, small conversation opened her eyes a little more about their situation. She'd always seen Vlad as someone who was powerful, but now there was a new light shining on him with this inability to call the Collector by that name. For the first time since being captured, Melody realized how powerful the Collector really had to be if he could command such unwilling obedience from Vlad. She also understood the full implications that meant to both Danny and Vlad; they were more vulnerable to the Collector than she was.

There was a long pause again, broken only by Danny whispering, "What's he going to do to us when he finds us?"

"He won't do anything to us," Vlad told Danny firmly, subtly trying to reassure the teen. He could tell Danny was more than just a little worried. "He might be upset, but he would never harm any of us. We're too valuable to be damaged. Remember that."

Danny looked back up at Vlad, eyebrows furrowing slightly. The man was actually trying to make him feel better in his own small way. It was...weird. He guessed being stuck in this stupid closet was making everyone act out of character. His eyes unwillingly turned in Ryder's direction, relieved to see that his sobs were becoming less noticeable. Maybe talking was helping.

However, all of these things didn't help to make Danny feel more confident. What Vlad had said was true, he believed that, but that wasn't what was bothering him.

The boy met Vlad's eyes as he somberly murmured, "It's not _us_ I'm worried about."

Glancing in the direction Danny had, Vlad had to chuckle a little at the sight of Ryder still curled up into a hapless ball. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about either Melody or Ryder," Vlad told the teen, smiling down at the group. "Honestly (and I don't mean this in a degrading sort of way), I don't believe the Curator thinks of them as a terrible threat. You two never tried to escape before Danny and I showed up, so I'm sure he believes you two are simply doing what we tell you to do. Peer pressure. Simple as that. Besides, they don't have the problem of obedience like we do, Danny. When it really comes down to it, they're probably more safe than we are."

After a short pause, Vlad quickly added as if making one last-ditch effort to cheer the teen up, "And don't worry about Ryder. He's fine. This is a normal reaction to his fear. Although I don't know what he could have possibly done in the past to trigger such an extreme phobia. Quite honestly, I don't want to know."

"That isn't what I-" Danny broke off before he could complete his statement. A frown creased his features as he stopped to think about what Vlad was saying. He knew the man was right about the Collector targeting them before Ryder and Melody, but that wasn't exactly what he'd meant.

He was more afraid for his friends and family. The Collector obviously knew who he hung out with and who his family was because the creep had totally been stalking him before he took him and Vlad to the museum. Would the ghost hurt his family for disobeying his rules? Would he really go after the people that they cared about? The Collector could easily get to Sam and Tuck if he tried since Danny wasn't there to protect them.

That thought scared the teen so bad. He wanted to voice it to Vlad, but he could tell the man was trying to make him feel better, and he seemed very self-assured at the moment. Danny didn't want to bring down the mood with depressing thoughts.

So, instead of pointing out the true meaning of his statement, Danny glanced over at Ryder and attempted a smile. "I'm kinda curious, actually, but I don't think he's gonna tell us anytime soon," he quietly agreed with Vlad. He let his eyes trail down to his sneakers as he added, "Not that I blame him. I definitely wouldn't mention it. It's probably something really awful."

As soon as Danny faded off, Vlad knew what the teen had meant. Vlad had been thinking the same thing since his heated discussion with the Collector in the Infirmary a week before. If the Collector wasn't willing to harm his own artwork, what was stopping him from harming their loved ones that didn't matter to the museum as blackmail? Of course, Vlad didn't personally worry too much about that, but he did concern himself over wondering how the others would react. He couldn't have them being too scared to help him escape.

Grateful that Danny didn't hang onto the depressing previous subject, Vlad grabbed onto the next one as he asked Melody, "Do you know the reason behind Ryder's fear? You know the man the best out of all of us."

Rubbing Ryder's shoulder soothingly, Melody shrugged and said, "Nope. I don't know. He's never told me, actually. I mean, he's told me a lot of things because the man can't seem to ever shut up, but he's never told me the story behind it all."

Sniffling pathetically, Ryder slowly raised his head and glanced around at the group with reddened, tear-filled eyes. His shaking had subsided noticeably, but it was still obvious he was scared out of his mind. "I-I don't wa-wanna talk about it," he whispered before shoving his face back into his knees.

Sympathy tugged at Danny's heart again, and he said softly to appease the man, "It's ok, Ryder. You don't have to." It was nice that the guy was at least paying attention to their conversation. Maybe that meant he was getting better or calming down.

Ryder shuddered again and mumbled, with his face still buried in his knees, "I j-just wanna go home. I hate this p-place."

The entire room fell into another silence, this one of pure despondency and depression. Standing in his corner, Vlad glared at the ground as he was reminded once again of how much he too despised the place, his vulnerable situation with these strangers, and the way he always felt trapped and controlled. All his power, authority, and dignity had been ripped away since he had been captured. Vlad would never admit it to the group, but he was finding it difficult to even get up in the mornings. The man's endurance was being tested, and Vlad didn't know how long he was going to last. He didn't want to think about it.

"We all hate it here, Ryder," Melody said with a surprising amount of strength and gentleness in her voice. Resting the side of her head on his shoulder, she told him, "That's why we're all going to get out together. As long as we all hate this place, we'll keep fighting to get out. And if we keep fighting, eventually we're going to get out." Managing a tight smile, she murmured, "Statistically speaking, we have a chance."

In response to her uplifting words, Ryder pressed his cheek against the top of Melody's head and closed his eyes. He couldn't voice how nice what she'd said made him feel. He hoped that she'd keep talking. She always made him feel better, though he had to admit that he'd never felt this awful before.

Danny couldn't help but smile a little at watching the two thieves. It struck him, not for the first time, how different from normal people Melody was. She acted so mean and terrible at times, but she could be so nice and helpful to Ryder when he least expected it. He didn't understand why she put up such a nasty wall, but he did believe that she was a good person inside...maybe way deep down but present nonetheless.

"Yeah, it's only a matter of time before we think of a really good plan," Danny chipped in, hoping to keep the good mood going. He hated when things got depressing. It almost made the room stuffy if it got too solemn. "You can only have so many crap ideas before you get a winner, right?"

Suppressing his confusion with a simple frown, Vlad watched everyone in the room with a certain amount of detachment. In an absurd way, he didn't feel like he belonged or was connected with any of these people. In the context, he knew why each and every person was acting the way they were, but what Vlad didn't get was the motivation itself. Why comfort others if you'd receive nothing in return? It was for nothing.

"Speaking of crappy plans," Vlad piped up, pushing his perplexing thoughts to the back of his mind, "Who's idea was it to get locked in this closet? Speaking of which, what idiot doesn't include a doorknob on the inside of a door?"

Laughing softly under his breath, Danny rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "Dude, I dunno," he murmured, smirking slightly when he thought about it. He wouldn't have doubted it if the Collector had somehow suspected that they would escape and had built this room in preparation for it. The thought was creepy enough to be true.

The boy glanced up at Vlad and cocked an eyebrow as he said, "Honestly, though, I didn't see this coming like an hour ago. Almost makes me hate surprises."

-An Hour Ago-

"Finally," Vlad mumbled as he stared at the board in concentration. The word had merely slipped out of his mouth, a snippet of many things that were flowing through his head.

Sitting opposite him was Melody. She too was staring at the chess board, deep in thought. Their expressions almost mirrored each others at this point as their game pieces were locked in a complex battle of wits. Melody looked up when she heard Vlad speak. "Finally what?" she asked.

Pulling his attention away from the board that the Collector had given him and the others just the other night, Vlad connected his gaze with Melody's. "Oh, nothing," he lied, shaking his head as if distracted. "I meant nothing."

Leaning forward, Melody grinned as she whispered theatrically, "That wasn't even a good lie. You're hardly ever absentminded, and honestly I really just want to hear you complement me. So go on and say it already."

"Well, aren't we blunt today?" Vlad said, trying to hid a smile. "Fine," he said with a wave of his hand. "I will admit it. You're a decent opponent at chess."

"Come on!" Melody protested. "I'm more than just adequate."

Before Vlad could reply, two hands thunked down on the tabletop beside their chess match. Danny grinned triumphantly down at the pair when their eyes rose to meet his own. "Hate to interrupt the ego-fest -well, not really- but I've got a plan!" the boy declared, sounding wickedly proud of himself. He placed a hand against his chest and added, "And yes, before you say anything, I thought of it, not Ryder. And it doesn't involve eating or air vents. Awesome, right?"

"Sounds like an improvement already," Vlad muttered, resting his chin in one of his hands. His attention returned to the chess match as he moved one of his pieces. Making sure his move was to his liking, Vlad flippantly waved his hand to the teen, saying with half interest, "Well, go ahead. Let's hear it, Daniel."

"Anything is awesome that doesn't involve me doing something stupid," Melody grumbled, glaring at the chess board. She hadn't liked the move Vlad had made.

Danny's smile delved into a frown and his shoulders slumped when both adults pretty much blew him off. For the first time in a while, he felt like a normal kid again trying to get the attention of his busy parents. He didn't like the feeling. Especially around Melody and Vlad.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the feeling, Danny said in annoyance, "It'll be easier to explain if you stop playing this stupid game." He glanced over his shoulder before looking back down at the two. "C'mon, I don't know how long Ryder can keep him preoccupied."

Somewhere in the back of his head Vlad was listening to Danny. He was more preoccupied with the game than the teen's probably deplorable plan. Melody wasn't listening simply because she had decided awhile ago that nothing Danny said was important to her, so her ears just instantly and naturally tuned him out.

"That's nice," Vlad said, honestly absentminded this time.

It took a few seconds for Danny's words to catch up with Vlad's brain, but when they did, the man blinked in surprise before sitting up straight and glancing over to the exasperated teen. "What do you mean?" He asked curiously. "Are you using another ghost in here to escape?"

"Oh, please," Melody scoffed. "They don't listen, so they won't help."

"Quiet," Vlad ordered her. Turning back to Danny, he got up from his spot, saying, "I want to see how this plays out. Where are they?"

"Finally," Danny muttered, rolling his eyes to the side as he turned his back on the two. He really didn't care if Melody came or not. He was pretty sure he'd only need Vlad to convince this ghost to help them. One manipulator had to be good enough, right?

The teen quickly walked across the room to a spot behind the basketball court. Danny heard Ryder before he rounded the corner of the cabin and saw him.

The thief was clapping loudly, and he hooted out, "Woah! Amazing! Do it again!"

Danny paused for a moment, confusion marring his expression. "What?" he muttered before increasing his pace. He stopped just a few feet behind Ryder - who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, staring wide-eyed up at what could only be described as a magician.

The ghost had pale yellow, bordering on orange, skin and a dark goatee. He wore a top hat and a flowing, blue-black robe that fell to just above his wispy tail. He was smiling, golden eyes flashing as he crossed his arms over his chest. He actually looked like he was really enjoying himself.

The magician glanced up at his new audience, and his smile widened. Instead of greeting them with words, he uncrossed his arms in one, swift motion and spread his hands dramatically. The moment his palms were facing the group, brilliant sparks appeared in the air before him, spelling out the word: _Faze_.

"Ha-ha!" Ryder cheered, clapping all over again like an excited child at a circus. "Even better the second time!"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and glanced up at Vlad. "Uh...Vlad, meet Faze," he introduced him unwillingly. He had no idea how the man was going to react to this. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who liked magical performances.

The Faze snatched his hat off his head and twirled it as he gave a short bow. "A pleasure, I'm sure," he replied. His deep voice sounded high-class, as if he was a noble talking down to a group of peasants.

Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad looked down at Danny with an acrid smile, as if telling the teen that it was going to be all his fault if the plan turned out to be a waste of time. And by bestowing the blame on Danny, Vlad was pretty much telling him his plan was going to fail. Nonetheless, Vlad understood that any plan was worth a shot at this point of captivity. Furthermore, Vlad didn't have a plan at the moment. Better to try something than nothing, the man had to remind himself.

Putting on a pleasant smile for the magician ghost, Vlad said, "Very impressive, Mr. Faze."

Glancing down at Danny again, he gestured with his shoulder for the teen to take the initiative and explain.

Fisting his hands, Danny did his best to ignore the annoying grin Vlad was shooting him. Instead of responding to it, like he knew Vlad wanted him to, he turned to face Faze. "Hey, uh, Faze," he began hesitantly. The ghost's eyes flicked to him as he flipped his hat back onto his head. Danny forced a smile to his face as he asked, "Can you do that one really cool trick again?"

"Danny," Ryder interrupted him, tilting his head backwards to stare at the two, upside down half-ghosts. "All his tricks are really cool! Duh!"

Faze chuckled warmly at hearing the praise. "You flatter me, human," he said with a grin.

"Well, it's true! You're the best magician I've ever se-"

"Ryder," Danny jumped in before the man could go any further. He let out a tense sigh, slapping a hand slowly to his forehead. His patience with the thief was wearing very thin at this point. It took everything in the teen to not just scream at the guy to be quiet. After a short pause, Danny finally muttered, "Just let Faze do the trick, please."

As amused as Faze looked by the situation, he complied, laughing softly to himself. "Certainly, Danny," he agreed. His hand shot into the inside of his cloak and, within the blink of an eye, returned with a small object clutched between his fingers. He held it up for his audience to see. "A normal coin, yes?" Faze questioned, not really expecting an answer.

The ghost nodded and quickly waved his hand to make the quarter disappear. Before Ryder had time to gasp in surprise, even though he'd already seen the trick, Faze opened up his other hand to display the quarter as if it had been there the entire time.

Faze's eyes met Vlad's as he grinned. "Here," he said and flicked the coin at Vlad's chest. Just before the man caught it, the coin morphed into a football. As Vlad held the football in both hands, it morphed again into a glass vase to the ecstatic clapping of Ryder.

Looking highly entertained, Faze snapped his fingers, and the vase in Vlad's hands exploded into a shower of confetti. As it rained down around his head, Danny glanced up at the man with an embarrassed grin. "...Tada?" he suggested.

Fumbling with the last few bits of confetti, Vlad's shoulders slumped as his only outward sign of frustration. Reining in his annoyance as if the restraint of emotion was a delicate art, Vlad appeased the ghost with smile and nod. "Delightful," he said with a fake chuckle. Holding up a finger, he said politely, "Just let me have a word with the boy. Only a moment."

Turning toward Danny, Vlad bent down so that they were at eye level. For everyone else's sake, Vlad didn't growl at the teen like he wished to. Instead, he said evenly but with a heavy tone of impatience, "I'm not in the mood for you cute, little jokes, Daniel. If you have a reason for all these theatrics, then you better get to it quickly."

"I'm sorry," Danny hissed back, keeping his voice low so that Faze wouldn't hear him. "It was the only way I could get him to show you. He only uses his power for tricks. At least, that's what he told me." Shaking his head quickly, Danny held up his hands and said, "Just let him explain. It makes sense, I promise."

Smiling to hide his unease, Danny faced Faze again. "Hey, that was awesome!" he congratulated the ghost who grinned and bowed theatrically. "You wanna explain how you did it? Vlad's really curious."

Faze laughed softly and nodded. "Oh, you humans and your curiosity. It never ceases to amuse me," he mused to himself. The ghost cleared his throat and clapped his hands. "Of course I'll explain. What good is a trick if you don't explain it?" Faze didn't wait for a response as he snapped his fingers again.

The confetti around Vlad's feet suddenly disappeared as if it had never been there. "Simply put, Vlad, there was no trick," Faze explained, speaking as if he knew everything there was to know about everything. His sharp grin widened. "Because there was no quarter. Nor was there a football or a vase."

Faze's golden eyes glowed brighter as he spoke. "Tricks on the mind are the most effective, wouldn't you say?"

Danny really wished Faze would just be straight-forward with his explanations, but he guessed, being a magician, he was used to making things dramatic. So, to avoid Vlad getting more annoyed, he hastily added, "Faze can make you, like, hallucinate. That's how he does his tricks."

Vlad shook his head in confusion a second before his brain made the connection. Then it was like a light bulb had been clicked on above Vlad's head as he straightened and froze in mid-thought, Danny's intended plan ultimately coming together like pieces of a puzzle inside his head. This time when Vlad smiled, it was a real one. He gave a small, congratulatory nod to Danny before addressing the magician ghost again.

"Fascinating power," he said as if in awe. Though his tone seemed to have a tinge of sarcasm, the ghost didn't notice as Vlad added on the flattery. "No wonder the Curator picked you for a display. He has such wonderful taste. Now, does that power work on ghosts too?"

Faze's smile only seemed to widen the more Vlad spoke to him. He placed a hand against his chest and laughed quietly to himself, as if he was extremely used to the praise he was receiving now. "I do so enjoy coming across fellow magic lovers," he commented, nodding to himself before he focused back on Vlad's question.

He waved a hand vaguely as he replied, "Of course. Why do you think I stick around this museum, hm? I need an audience! My skills and talents deserve a different audience everyday and that is exactly what this place provides. That's a very hard thing to find here in the Ghost Zone." Faze paused to chuckle. "Pardon me, I'm rambling. It isn't often I speak to humans, especially since you all began to act so oddly."

Faze leaned down and lowered his voice as he questioned curiously, "Where is that young lady that got trapped in the vent a few days ago? They got her out, didn't they?"

Vlad had to catch himself before he grinned at the fond memory. Covering his mouth with a hand to compose himself and avoiding all eye contact with Ryder and Danny, Vlad adopted a sympathetic, serious look before answering, "Yes. Fortunately, she made it out. She wasn't meant to get stuck, mind you. Must have been a minor miscalculation on our parts. The guards were so kind in helping her, though."

Selecting a conversational tone, Vlad continued with an explanation, "You see, Mr. Faze, Danny and I are not only here to be on display, but we're here to help the Curator out. Since he wants the addition of humans to his museum, he must deal with a few humans who might want to escape due to fear or boredom of the Ghost Zone. We're here to see if escape is possible. It's merely a game, in all honestly. We come in and try to get out, if we don't, it's not a big deal because we're on display. If we do, we can tell the Curator how we did it so that he can fix the problem, and we'll come back and try again. No harm done."

Smiling a little, Vlad finished by saying casually, "In the end, it's all just a big disappearing and reappearing act."

"_Ohhh_. So _that's_ what you've been doing! You're magicians yourself, I see!" Faze exclaimed, straightening up and placing a hand on the top of his head. He tipped his hat back and laughed heartily. "We've been wondering what's been going on lately. Actually had a bit of a bet going on." He nudged Ryder in the arm good-naturedly. The ghost shrugged and smirked. "Let's just say I lost."

Danny glanced up at Vlad for a moment, both eyebrows raised as he smiled. He'd never say it out loud, but he was really glad that Vlad had listened to him. Tricking people was what he was good at, and he definitely had Faze fooled. Instead of saying anything, he just crossed his arms over his chest and nodded along to what Vlad had said.

Composing himself, Faze fixed his hat and laughed one more time. "Do you have another 'escape' attempt in mind? One magician to another, of course. I won't tell a soul," the ghost said with a sly smile.

There was a moment's pause before Ryder snorted under his breath. He shook his head and mumbled to himself, "Heh. _Soul_...'cause they're ghosts. Funny."

Pretending to think hard about the subject, Vlad tapped his chin and looked upward. "We have a few in mind, but nothing concrete and serious yet," Vlad answered. "Mainly, it's the guards that give us trouble. They're always so vigilant. If we had some way to distract them, we could actually try another escape attempt in only a couple of minutes."

Then, with eyes going wide as if in sudden realization, Vlad said with excitement, "Unless...we obtain the help of a certain talented and powerful gentleman ghost." Waving his hand as if to dash the thought away, Vlad said, "But of course not. You wouldn't want to do that. Helping us is almost beneath you."

"Hmhm, so true," Faze agreed, holding his chin in one hand as he looked down on the group of humans. He hummed quietly to himself, deeply thinking over what he wanted to say. "It would prove entertaining, though." The ghost rubbed his goatee, eyebrows furrowing as he pursed his lips.

"Not to mention, you can totally take credit for it helping us out. The Curator would love that," Danny piped up, sounding casual. He shrugged as if the notion was no big deal.

"Truth once again!" Faze laughed as he pointed at Danny. The teen's words seemed to have guided him to his decision. He clapped his hands and smiled brilliantly. "So what are we waiting for? What's the plan, halfas? I will be glad to assist you...and by _assist_ I mean do everything."

Eyebrows raised in a hint of astonishment, Vlad flashed Danny a small, sly smile before addressing Faze again. "That's wonderful!" he said, giving the ghost a welcoming grin.

Motioning for Faze to come closer, Vlad said in a conspiratorial whisper, "Now, what we need you to do, Mr. Faze, is cast your magnificent spell over the guards when they come through those doors in a few minutes. Let them see that all of us are gone and in our respective display cases. In addition, make us four invisible to their eyes. That way, we'll easily sneak out of the doors without any detection. Simple as that, and it will all be thanks to you, my good sir."

Standing back while crossing his arms across his chest, Vlad thought smugly to himself, _Sometimes this is too easy._

A/N: Oh, Vlad. Sometimes you can be so awesomely evil. Seriously, I've been enjoying his character for this fic way too much. Well, that's the first part of the failed escape attempt. The second half will be up next week. We'll see you guys then!


	9. Chapter 9 Closet Confessions Part 2

A/N: Ug. I'm so sorry for missing last week's update. I've just been swamped with copious amounts of papers and homework all last week and again this week for university. Thankfully, though, I go back home in two more weeks, and then I'll have plenty of time to remember to update this fic!

Anyways, thanks for your reviews! ML and I still enjoy 'em. But I have to say two things about them. First, if you are anonymous, I cannot answer your reviews. I'm sorry. That's just how FanFiction works. So if you want me to reply properly to your reviews, you gotta get an account. Secondly, to answer one of those anonymous reviewers just to make things clear, this fic is in absolutely no way connected with Powerless or Incommunicado. None whatsoever. Sorry if that disappoints anyone.

That said, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any characters from Danny Phantom. The rest are ours.

Previously in the Collector: We left you readers off in the past filled with a pompous magician ghost called Faze who got manipulated by Vlad into helping the four humans escape...only to end up getting stuck in the closet they are presently in. Yeah. I'm confused too.

Chapter 9 Closet Confessions Part 2

With the grand disappearing act on his mind, Faze nodded solemnly; nevertheless, an excited grin played at his mouth. "Oh, it's been so long since I've done something like this," he said with a happy sigh. The ghost wiped an imaginary tear from his glowing eye as he added, "Makes me feel young again!"

Ryder, Vlad, and Danny shared a silent look, but decided to say nothing about that considering they really needed the ghost's help. Before the silence could stretch too far, Faze floated backwards and exclaimed, "Well then! Give me one moment! I want to test something."

Faze turned to face Ryder and lowered his head to stare thoughtfully into the thief's eyes. The intense stare caused the back of Ryder's neck to prickle uncomfortably, and he took a step back. "Uh, hello," he mumbled, swallowing noticeably as he looked back into Faze's eyes. "Can I, uh, help you with someth- why are you staring at me?"

The ghost chuckled and broke his gaze as he straightened up. He waved his hands dramatically, and Ryder quickly found himself staring at his reflection. The thief blinked and jumped back, fists held up at the ready to defend himself from...himself.

Danny grinned at Ryder's reaction and laughed a little as he realized that Faze had created a fake Ryder out of thin air. "That's so cool," he said, smile widening when both Ryders leaned forward and inspected each other with a critical eye.

Ryder suddenly smiled himself and rubbed his goatee. "_Daaaang_, I don't think the museum can handle this much good-looking," he commented, nodding along with the other Ryder. They both reached out and shook each other's hand, both sharing the exact same zany smile. It was impossible to tell them apart.

"I suppose we'll never find out," Faze answered and snapped his fingers. The other Ryder disappeared as if it'd never been there, and the ghost turned to look at Vlad. "Go find that human girl and get ready. It won't be long now."

Though he didn't like being ordered around by a pompous ghost, Vlad nodded anyways before rushing off to go find Melody, Danny at his side. Vlad noticed he'd been doing that a lot lately: swallowing his pride. At first it was rather difficult and frustrating, but Vlad was finding it easier to do now that he'd done it so often in the last three weeks of captivity. With a little incredulity, Vlad was seeing how great a tool it was at getting him what he wanted. He assumed it made people trust him more. Why it did that? Well, he hadn't really figured that out yet.

Glancing down at Danny, Vlad grinned as he muttered, "And here I thought lying would be something so difficult for you as a superhero to break into. Seems you're a natural after all. Today is just full of surprises."

One moment Danny was excited and pumped to finally have figured out his own plan that could totally work, and the next, his good mood came crashing down around him where it promptly burst into flames. He glared resolutely back up at Vlad, hating the smug smile the guy was shooting him.

The annoying thing was that Vlad had a point that Danny couldn't really argue with. Danny did lie. He had to lie when it came down to hiding his identity from his parents and other people he was close to. But was it really lying if he was just doing it to protect himself? That wasn't bad lying, was it? It was different from what Vlad did...wasn't it?

"It was the only way he'd help us," Danny grumbled back at the man. "It's not like it hurt him or anything. So that's not really lying...it's just creative story-telling."

"Oh, ho!" Vlad said with a small laugh. He hadn't expected such a strong reaction from the boy. Studying Danny out of the corner of his eye, he thought this new development as something pretty interesting, if not entertaining. "I just hit on a touchy subject, I see. Looks like the 'moral' superhero has some confusion after all. Creative story telling. Honestly, I haven't heard that one before."

Before Danny could protest, Vlad cut him off by saying teasingly, "Anyways, that lecture can be saved for later. There's our girl. Right where we left her, I see."

Still glaring at the chess board as if she had been frozen in the same place since they'd left her, Melody reviewed the game she'd been previously playing with Vlad until he'd gotten up to follow Danny. She glanced up at the two as they approached, looking a bit sour for whatever reason.

"Look alive, Miss Hart," Vlad told her with a grin. "An escape attempt is happening in only the matter of minutes. We need to be by the main doors before the guards arrive, so get up and move!"

"That was fast," Melody murmured as she rose. She glanced at Danny, noticed he was upset, and asked with half interest, "What's up with you, shorty?"

Danny glared at the ground, his frustration quickly growing. Vlad had totally caught him between a rock and a hard place with his stupid comment, and the worst thing was that he knew it. They both knew it.

"Nothing," he muttered half-heartedly to Melody without looking up. He knew that she probably didn't care all that much about how he was feeling, and he didn't know how to explain it, anyway. It wasn't like he'd taken the time to explain his relationship with Vlad to the two thieves.

That was one conversation he never wanted to have. Ever.

The teen jumped in surprise when an arm looped lightly around his neck from behind, and he was pulled into a tight headlock. Before he had time to react, someone dug their knuckles down onto his head and gave him an epic noogie.

"Way to go, Dan-o!" Ryder cheered as he grinned. "That was so awesome! We all make such an awesome team! We should totally call ourselves the B-Team 'cause the A-Team is already taken and stuff."

"Ryder!" Danny yelped, squirming in the man's grasp. "C-choking me!"

"Oh, right," the thief said and quickly released the boy. He took a step back, chuckling happily. "Sorry. I forgot you half ghost people things need to breathe. Which is really weird, by the way."

Danny glowered silently back at the man as he did his best to smooth out his messy mop of hair. He was so glad that they were getting out of there or he just knew he was going to go insane.

Melody looked back and forth between Vlad and Danny, trying to make a connection between Danny's sudden mood change. She had never really stopped to think about their relationship because she didn't believe it was important or that interesting. They were the only two half ghosts in the world. She assumed they got along alright or tolerated each other because of that. But maybe not.

Despite her new curiosity for this new development, Melody's focus returned to their escape plan. She didn't have time to ponder the halfas' relationship dynamics. The four of them briskly walked over to the main double doors, Melody and Vlad in front of Danny and Ryder.

In a small way, Melody was glad Ryder now had someone new to interact and mess with instead of just her. Sometimes the girl felt like she was taking care of a hyperactive puppy when it came down to Ryder. New company like Danny was kinda a relief. Then again, she was jealous too. Dividing Ryder's attention meant she wasn't the center of it in his crazy world.

"Mind telling me what we're doing?" Melody asked Vlad.

"Isn't it obvious? We're escaping," Vlad said with a teasing, sly smile. He couldn't help himself sometimes, especially when a new escape plan was on the brain. It always gave Vlad a small flare of thrill every time, making him feel younger again.

"Don't give me that pout," he told Melody. "There's no time to explain. Just line up against the wall. Yes, like that. Now everyone has to be completely quiet as the guards come in. They won't see us, but that doesn't guarantee they won't hear us. When I motion for us to move, follow me. Understand?"

Ryder gave an excited grin but stayed silent as Vlad had ordered...for about two seconds, that is. "This is so awesome. Awesome, awesome," he whispered excitedly, nearly bouncing in place where he stood against the wall. "I like this plan. This is a good plan." He nudged Danny in the arm. "B-Team! Woo!"

"Ryder," Danny growled under his breath as he clenched his hands into fists. "Shut up and pay attention."

Ordinarily, the man's weird attitude wouldn't have bothered him, but now he wasn't exactly in the mood for it. Especially not when Vlad was acting all cheery. That just seemed to put him in a worse mood than before.

Ryder's shoulders slumped a little, and he asked quietly, sounding hurt, "Are you mad at me?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, Danny muttered back, "No, I'm not mad at you."

The thief paused for a moment before his smile returned, and he nodded. "Ok then!" He looked over at Vlad and gave the man a thumbs up. "I am so ready, Vladster! Ready to party! And by party, I mean escape in case nobody got that."

_Ding_!

Danny placed a hand over his face and shook his head. _Thank god for that stupid bell._

Vlad leaned forward to glare at Ryder down the line of people pressed up against the wall. His stern look told the man to shut up. Second later, the door next to him opened up to let a handful of guards into the room. They came in without even glancing at the group of humans, as if the four weren't even there.

Smiling in satisfaction, Vlad inched away from the wall to hold open the doors. He motioned for the others to go through. Once they had all passed without a single glance from the guards, Vlad quickly brought up the rear by being the last one through the door. The hallway beyond was quiet and dim. The last time they'd gotten this far, they're victory had been short lived. Vlad could only hope they'd make it further this time as the four walked quietly out into the open.

Danny half expected the steel walls from before to drop down on them again, but they were able to pass the point they reached last time and move beyond that. His anxieties began to grow as he stopped the group at the corner they hadn't gotten to before. He had no clue what to expect as he poked his head out from behind the corner and looked around.

The hallway he ended up seeing was gigantic. Items, both human and ghost, lined the walls on each side of the massive hallway, and bright lights shone down from every corner, illuminating each display as if it was the centerpiece of the museum.

But that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that the museum was still open to guests and those visitors were currently milling about looking at the Collector's art. Getting past all of them was going to be hard, especially with Ryder and Melody to drag along.

Danny leaned back from around the corner and looked at Vlad. "You got out before," he said seriously, eyebrows furrowing as he frowned. "Which direction should we go?"

Vlad hurried to catch up with Danny, sticking his head out around the corner to see the pathway blocked off by museum visitors. It was obvious they needed to go a different way, but Vlad wasn't very sure which way to go. He was positive they couldn't just waltz out of the front door, so they'd have to find another exit in the back. The man really wished he had a map of the place. It would make life more easy for everyone.

Taking the initiative and stepping smoothly into his leadership role, Vlad decided he needed to pick a direction quickly, before everyone got too antsy, started arguing, and/or ran off in random directions. For a horrible split second, Vlad envisioned Ryder rushing into the next hallway with the other ghosts in it, throwing his hands up, making bear claws with his fingers, and shouting "RAWR!" at all the unsuspecting visitors.

Turning sharply around, Vlad ushered the others in the opposite way, saying quickly in a loud whisper, "_Not_ this direction!"

Composing himself some more, Vlad rushed to the front of the group to lead them, saying more calmly, "We need to get out through a back way. When I was taken to the Infirmary, there wasn't anyone around. They turned left right here, so let's just travel that route. Keep moving, but stay quiet."

The group followed closely behind Vlad, moving quickly and silently as he had told them. Danny kept his head on a swivel, completely paranoid that the Collector would jump out of nowhere and order them to freeze in place. It would be like the worst game of red light green light ever.

Danny paused for a moment when he realized that Ryder wasn't beside him like he had been a moment ago. Before he could call out the man's name, the thief zipped past him from behind and hurried up to Vlad's side as if he'd been there the whole time. Rolling his eyes to himself, Danny decided not to question it and quickened his pace to keep up.

They probably traveled for a good two minutes through several different hallways of the museum before their good luck ran out. As the group rounded a corner, they heard and saw a squad of ghost guards headed their way. Everyone froze in place, eyes going wide as they looked around for a place to hide.

Ryder reacted first and pointed across the small hallway as he hissed, "There!" Without waiting for a response, the thief shot over to a dark door with a golden handle. The door had no markings on it, but it was the only door in sight. Seeing as how it was their only choice, the group followed Ryder as he flung the door open and dove inside.

Only when all four humans had piled inside did they realize that the door was a closet that led absolutely nowhere. And that was when the chaos began.

-Back to the Present-

"I really gotta pee," Ryder suddenly announced.

"You're not peeing in here," Melody told the man, her face aghast at just the thought. "No one," she told everyone in the closet with a tone of finality, "is peeing in here. Everyone got that?"

After an hour or so of being stuck in the closet, everyone had calmed down to a reasonable level. Silence reined as everyone was left to his or her own thoughts. This new bodily update was the first set of words in long string of noiselessness.

Looking down at Melody from his corner, Vlad rolled his eyes before returning his stare to the flame of rosy ectoplasm in one of his palms. He was thankful for the quietness, but he knew it wouldn't last long. If the group didn't get out soon, they'd become more agitated and restless. At this point, all Vlad wanted was his own space. He was sick of having everything he did and said thrown out to the public. The man was trying very hard not to show his unease at the moment, but he was weary about how long the facade was going to last. In an odd way he couldn't quite explain, Vlad felt he needed to keep up the illusion of calm and focus for everyone else's sake and not just his own.

Danny was silent for a few moments before he groaned under his breath. "Great, now I gotta pee, too," he muttered. He hadn't really been thinking about it before, but now that Ryder mentioned it, that was all he could think about. "How come you always have to pee when you're hiding or stuck somewhere? Why does that always happen?"

The teen didn't expect a response so he just stared up at Vlad's ecto-energy to avoid looking at anyone else. At the very least, Ryder had calmed down. His breathing was still labored, and he still looked like he was expecting the walls to eat him at any moment, but he was definitely calmer.

"S-sorry," Ryder mumbled with his chin propped up on his knees. He still had his arms wrapped around his midsection like he was gonna fall apart, but his tears had, thankfully, stopped. He glanced pathetically over at Melody and whispered, "I w-won't pee in he-here. P-promise."

Glancing over to Ryder and his pitiful puppy-like face, Melody felt a twinge of guilt. "Ug," she sighed, throwing her head back dramatically. "Stop looking so pathetic, Ryder. I'm sorry, okay?" Extending her hands out, she said, "Maybe I overreacted. Just a little bit." She paused before adding, "Still, nobody is peeing in here. That's just...so nasty. Ew. Just gross. I need to stop thinking about it."

"That's probably a good idea," Danny agreed as he shifted a bit on the ground. He really wished they'd stop talking about pee. That was not helping his current situation. The teen heaved a sigh as the room quieted down again. It both annoyed and relieved him that everyone could even be this silent. He honestly hadn't thought Ryder could stay quiet for more than five minutes.

Danny's eyes drifted back to Vlad's palm, and he frowned to himself, unable to bear the silence any longer. It was killing him to be in this tiny room when no one was talking.

"Y'know what I miss most about the real world?" Danny murmured, keeping his gaze fixed on the flame in Vlad's hand. He didn't wait for an answer as he finished, "The sun. Man, what I'd give for five minutes outside on a sunny, breezy day."

"Oh, don't remind me!" Melody said with a faint, dreamy smile. Just the memory of the sun made the girl happy. "I used to sun bathe like every day on the beach. Now look at me! I'm as pale as a...um...well, a ghost." Turning to Ryder, she said before anyone could comment, "And that pun was totally not intended!"

For the first time since they got trapped in the closet, Ryder smiled. It wasn't up to par with his usual ones, but at least it was there. "S-sure it wasn't," he answered innocently. Ryder stopped to press his forehead against his knees and tremble. Danny feared he was having a relapse back into the panic attack, but he raised his head again after a few moments. "I d-don't have that problem," the man added, his small smirk turning teasing.

Danny couldn't help but smile at the response. Ryder could be annoying, but he definitely preferred the annoying over the pathetic. The boy glanced up at Vlad and asked to keep the conversation going, "What do you miss most, Vlad?" He paused for a moment before saying with a huge grin, "Fruitloops, maybe?"

Vlad was surprised when Danny personally asked him what he missed about home. He looked up from where he was staring into the ecto flames emitting from his palm, pinning Danny with a confused look seconds before the offhanded joke smacked him in the face. Sitting back against the wall with an expression of annoyed amusement, Vlad sneered back, "Oh, you're adorable."

After taking a moment to think about his answer, Vlad said with a fleeting, wistful smile, "I miss reading, quite honestly."

"N-nerd," Ryder responded first, the small smile still stuck on his face.

Danny couldn't help but share the sentiment, but he said nothing about it. He was just happy Vlad actually answered him instead of just glaring at him like he thought he was going to do. He chuckled a little and glanced over at Ryder. "What about you, Ryder?" the teen questioned, honestly curious to know.

For a moment, it looked like the thief wasn't going to answer. The smile slowly drifted away from his expression as he dropped his eyes to the floor. "Jet," Ryder mumbled without looking at anyone. He'd said it so quietly it was almost hard to hear.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Who's Jet?"

"My...dog," Ryder answered, still keeping his eyes fixed on the floor. "A-and Esperanza. My...dog si-sitter. I miss th-them a lot."

At first Vlad didn't get it. He just thought Ryder was being goofy again. Then realization hit the man after more thought and after seeing Melody's smile vanish at the mention of Ryder's dog. Her eyes faded out of focus as emotional memories came to her mind. She curled up into a tighter ball on the floor, as if becoming smaller would solve her misery.

Vlad almost counted himself lucky at that moment. He didn't have anyone to miss from the outside world. Then again, it did make life pretty lonely. Nevertheless, Vlad was too stubborn to accept the fact he was alone and unhappy.

In a split second, the good mood seemed to have been sucked right out of the room. Vlad glanced over to Danny, wondering if the teen had any more strategies to keep everyone calm and lighthearted. He had been doing a surprisingly wonderful job until Ryder's somber answer.

Danny looked back at Vlad, frowning in frustration. He'd been trying his best to keep everyone in a good mood, but now his thoughts were drifting to his friends and family. He really wanted to simmer in his own depression, but he didn't want to do that to everyone else. He had to think of something to say that didn't completely suck.

"I...we...you-" Danny broke off, unable to get his desperate thoughts together to form a coherent sentence that would make everyone feel better. He released a tense sigh and finally said, "You'll see them again, Ryder. Don't worry. We're gonna get out of here, and then you're gonna see them, ok?"

After a pause, Ryder unwillingly nodded, though he didn't look up at the teen. Danny forced a smile to his face as he finished, "At least they have each other, right?"

Finally, the thief looked up at him. He didn't say anything, but he nodded a little in silent agreement.

Danny leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, willing his mind to come up with another point of conversation. His narrowed eyes suddenly widened as it became obvious what he needed and wanted to say. He dropped his eyes to stare at the far wall and murmured, "I miss my folks, too. They're probably...probably really worried."

He rubbed the back of his neck, quietly saying, "I...hate lying to them. I really hate it. It sucks so bad, and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't tell them the truth about my powers..." Danny trailed off and closed his eyes. He feared he'd said too much about his personal life, but it'd just come out before he could stop himself.

Danny's sudden, random truthfulness brought Melody out of her melancholy pondering. She didn't want to keep thinking about her life back in the real world, so she jumped onto the new topic without any hesitation. Vlad was a bit surprised when she actually asked in a brash tone, "Besides them being worried about you going off to battle villains and crap all day, what's the big deal? They should know that they could be in danger so that they can prevent being used as hostages and stuff. Honestly, it's smarter on your part to let them know about your powers. Why wouldn't you just tell them?"

"Because I..." Danny had to stop himself when his voice cracked. He didn't know why he'd said something so honest, but he had to finish what he'd started. It was helping in a small way. Not helping him, obviously, but the others for sure. "I'm...scared," the boy finally admitted, gaze focused on his sneakers.

"They're ghost hunters, and I'm a ghost. What if they-" he broke off again, unable to finish the horrible thought that was always present in the back of his mind. He couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. What if his parents didn't accept him when they found out he was part of the thing they hated the most in the world?

"They're...ghost hunters?" Melody said, wincing a bit. "Um...yeah. Yeah, I believe you. That has to suck." She had probably just sounded really stupid.

Trying to shrug off her responsibility of the conversation to someone else, the girl looked over to Vlad for help. That proved to be useless. The man was busy studying Danny with an unreadable expression on his face. She didn't know if the man was concerned, wary, or frustrated. He could have been all three. Melody had no clue. For whatever case, though, Vlad didn't look like he was in the mood to say anything. So it was up to Melody to keep the conversation going.

"Well, they _are_ you're parents," Melody said slowly, scrounging around for sympathy. She didn't really care about Danny. He was just a means to an end, yet she did feel a twinge of sadness for his predicament. She remembered being a freshman in high school. It hadn't been that easy. Her parents hadn't really helped her much either.

"I mean, yeah, it could be pretty awkward...like coming out of the closet...which is another pun I didn't mean to...UG!" Melody was getting frustrated with herself for not sounding logical or sympathetic. She'd dived into this conversation without much thought, and now she knew she was coming off as a heartless idiot. She could deal with heartless; but idiot was something she didn't like.

"What I'm trying to say is this: if your parents truly love you, eventually they're just going to have to deal with your ghost-ness thing. If not...um...just, just forget it. When I start sounding like a moron, I'm done." Glaring at the far wall, she muttered, "Sorry."

Danny could only wince in sympathy the longer Melody tried to comfort him. If that's what she was actually doing. He was having a really hard time trying to figure that one out and, apparently, so was she. He wanted to say something to make her feel less stupid, but nothing was coming to mind. He hadn't exactly put himself in the best of moods after that.

He just kept his eyes locked on his feet, scrunching himself down to appear smaller and less noticeable. He really wished he hadn't said anything in the first place.

"Danny."

The teen glanced up slightly, surprised to see that Ryder was the one who'd addressed him. His shaking had slowed noticeably, and he was staring solemnly back at the boy.

"Mel's r-right...sorta. Y-your parents would n-never hurt you," Ryder quietly assured Danny, dipping his head down to look right into the boy's eyes. "They l-love you. They-they'd accept you no m-matter what. Parents...it's im-impossible for them n-not to love their kids. They're...they're perfect j-just the way they a-are. Especially s-such a cool o-one like you."

Stunned into silence for a moment, Danny could only look back at Ryder. That was the first serious thing he'd heard the man say since meeting him. He swallowed and nodded slowly. "Th-thanks, Ryder," he murmured. He didn't trust himself to raise his voice.

Seconds before sneering a comment to the entire group about how sickening sentimental they all sounded, Vlad caught himself. The three were sharing a moment. Sure, it was a pathetically designed device to make everyone feel better, but that didn't mean it didn't accomplish exactly what it set out to do. Besides Vlad, everyone else probably felt all warm inside, which was what the group needed at the moment. To say something now would dash away the lifted mood and ruin what the three had going.

Opting for a simple eye roll, Vlad sat back against the wall and returned his eyes to the fire blazing dimly in his palm. He'd let the group share in their good-feeling dream world where everything was nice, dandy, and full of sappy hope, but there was no way he was going to partake in it. From years of experience, he knew the harsh reality of how the world could really be. It was almost too late for the man. Vlad knew he'd never be able to return to the mindset the three others shared, not even if he wanted to.

_Ignorance is bliss, as they say_, Vlad thought to himself.

"H-hey, Vlad," Ryder said, quietly interrupting the man's thoughts. He had been staring silently at his knees after making his big speech for the day, but he forced his eyes up to meet Vlad's when he got the half-ghost's attention.

The thief shifted his feet, shoulders tensing up as he thought over something that he clearly saw as greatly important. "I kinda need to-to tell you something...I-I mean it's been bugging me, and I just..."

Ryder closed his eyes, clenched his hands into fists, and rapidly blurted out, "I stole something from you!"

"What?" Vlad asked blankly, not knowing if he was more shocked than he was angry.

Head shooting up in alarm, Melody's voice had a note of apprehension to it as she told Ryder, "Hey, Ryder, sweetie. I don't think this a really good time. How about you just...you know..._shut up_?"

Danny stared between Ryder and Melody, his confusion written clearly across his face. Was Ryder serious about stealing from Vlad? When had he even managed to do that? And why the heck was he bringing it up now?

Ryder flinched a little when he turned his head to face Melody's intense glare. His eyes flicked back over to Vlad, and he chewed on the inside of his cheek. He understood why she was angry at him, but he really wanted to get this off his chest before they got out of the closet and his flippant confidence returned. This was really his only chance.

"I...uh...stole something from you," Ryder squeaked out before he could stop himself. "About six months ago. From your company. I'm sorry."

"You stole from my _company_?" Vlad asked in something close to a growl. He was trying very hard to contain his anger, but it was evident from the sudden flare of energy in the already burning ecto flame in his palm that the man was almost beyond furious.

"What did you even _steal_?" Vlad continued in a yell, leaning forward to aggressively confront Ryder. "And why the _hell _would you bring this up now? While we are all stuck in a closet? Was this really the most convenient time to mention your personal thieving habits with my company? What did you expect? That I would be _happy_? Dammit, Ryder! You're beyond ridiculous!"

And with that properly shouted, Vlad leaned back against the wall once more with an explosive sigh of fury. With his free hand, he rubbed his temple and closed his eyes. More than anything, he wanted to get out of the closet. He wanted out more than he wanted to punch Ryder, and that was saying a lot.

There was a moment of tense silence as everyone waited for someone to say something, anything. Danny was literally stunned into silence. He couldn't believe Ryder would admit to stealing something from Vlad's company. Especially when he had nowhere to go! The teen bit his lip, watching Vlad's reaction closely. If the guy did lose it...he'd try his best to keep Ryder intact.

"I'm sorry," Ryder mumbled again, cringing away from Vlad as best he could. He wasn't as scared of Vlad as he probably should have been. He kept his arms around his abdomen as he unwillingly explained, "My em-employer at the t-time wanted me to steal this-this gun thing from your company's headq-quarters in Wisconsin. I didn't know you th-then, so I'm sorry. I d-don't steal from friends...well, not un-unless I really n-need to."

He closed his mouth for a moment, giving Vlad one of his most pathetic looks to date. "Sorry," he apologized one, last time.

With his eyes still closed, Vlad growled out with strained politeness and control, "If you know what's good for you, Mr. Walker, you can kindly shut up. I do not want to hear your explanation, I do not want to hear your excuses, and I especially do not want to hear your apologies. I'm in no mood."

Sighing again - this one sounding more tired and weary than angry - Vlad put out his ecto flame and rested his forehead on his arms that were placed across his knees as the room plunged back into darkness. He knew the move would make him look weak, but Vlad didn't care at this point. The last thing any of them needed was another fight, and the only way to prevent that was for Vlad to force himself to calm down. In a way, the man felt like he was slowly being driven insane.

"V-Vlad, I can get i-it back-"

"Ryder, shut up," Danny cut the man off before he could continue. He hadn't been expecting Vlad to react like this, but he knew that he needed to keep Ryder quiet. Somehow, Vlad had restrained from killing the man, so he needed to make sure that trend stayed the same until they got out of there. He really hoped the Collector would just find them already.

Unwillingly, Danny lit up a small, green burst of ectoplasm from his thumb and peered across the dim closet at Vlad. He almost wanted to turn off his power the instant he saw the man, but he kept the light on for Ryder's sake more than anything. They did _not_ need another freak out after that.

"Vlad..." the teen began, sounding very much like he didn't want to say anything at all, really. He swallowed once before murmuring, "Thanks."

Danny decided not to say anymore to that. He didn't want to explain why he was thanking the man; he just wanted to try and calm him down somehow.

A few weeks ago Vlad would have scoffed at the boy's gratitude, or maybe he would have gotten more angry; however, this situation and even Vlad himself was different. Out of all the people cramped in that closet, Vlad knew that Danny was probably the only one who understood how hard it was for the man not to strangle Ryder to death. That's why Vlad said and did nothing but glance up at Danny in acknowledgment before putting his head down again.

_Crap...we're right back where we started_, Danny realized as he slowly closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with the side of his fist. He thought they'd been making progress, but that progress had just blown up in their faces and there was nothing he could do to fix it. He'd tried his best, given it all he had, and it still didn't work out. Their group was just too different to ever mesh together well.

The boy tried to think of something helpful to say, anything that could somehow mend the divide that had opened up between their group all over again, but he couldn't. He was totally out of uplifting things to say.

Danny set his expression in a determined frown and prepared to completely wing it when the wall he was leaning against suddenly disappeared from behind him. He fell backwards with a quick yelp and had to shield his face as actual light hit his eyes.

He lowered his arms and blinked quickly up at the last person he wanted to see - or maybe the first. The Collector stood over Danny, his hand still holding the door of the closet open. He was flanked by a large group of guards, and he did not look pleased.

"Are we ready to come out of the closet now?" the ghost questioned, raising a mocking eyebrow down at the teenager.

Danny continued to stare up at the Collector, and he nodded slowly. "I think that's a big ten-four, Mr. Curator," he answered in the nicest tone he could manage. Honestly, he preferred the Collector over being stuck in that closet any day of the week.

A/N: Heh, fun chapter. Melody can't sympathize, Ryder can't keep his mouth shut when he needs to, Vlad can't stand anyone, and poor 'ol Danny can't seem to rally the troops together. Doesn't make for the most uplifting of chapters, but the group is coming along...kinda...not really. Hopefully the next chapter will be better for our group. I'll see you guys next week with another chapter! Later!


	10. Chapter 10 If Life was Fair

A/N: Whew! Sorry about the delay again! Jeez, where is my head and motivation? That's right. It took off and left during finals week. Now I remember. Anyways, summer break starts now, so I'll be sure to post every weekend. I know, I say that now, but I might forget a week or two. Oh well. This chapter was a fun one to write. Danny and Vlad get to "talk things out." Heh heh. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any of the Danny Phantom characters. The rest are ours, so no touching them. And we really do mean that.

Chapter 10 If Life was Fair

"Hey, Vlad? Are you okay?"

Danny glanced across their display case at the man as he unwillingly asked the question. Only one day had passed since they had been rescued from the closet by the Collector and promptly brought straight back to their prison. The ghost hadn't been as angry at them as the teen had first suspected, but that was the least of his worries currently.

Vlad still seemed really peeved about what had happened. The guy hadn't really said anything to anyone since their return. Granted, they had only been on display for probably forty-five minutes now since breakfast, but it felt like a really long time when Vlad was in a funk. Or maybe he was just thinking. Danny could never tell these sort of things when it came down to the man.

Shaken out of his lethargically muddled musings and reflective, Vlad opened his eyes and glanced across the room at the teen with a frown. Though he thought he looked more put together than he originally believed, Vlad reluctantly supposed his facade was wearing thin and ragged. If Danny could notice that Vlad wasn't doing well, then it was pretty obvious, and that's what frustrated the man even more.

"I have a headache," Vlad told Danny. Though it was true, it didn't cover nearly all the material that was making Vlad feel so miserable. Actually, the migraine was more of a side affect than a cause.

Straightening his back he had leaning against the wall where he sat, Vlad looked away from Danny as he lied quietly, "I'm fine." Then, because he knew that not even Danny could believe such a blatant falsehood, he added as if to placate the teen, "I'm just...frustrated."

_Holy crap. He actually answered me,_ Danny thought, frozen in shock for a few moments. He hadn't been expecting that at all. He was actually really unprepared to say anything back to the man. He didn't want to come across too "childish" like he always apparently did, but it was kinda exciting in a way for Vlad to respond with something not mean. Exciting and weird, but in a good way.

Danny swallowed a bit and crossed his arms over his chest as he silently reminded himself, _Better not let this go to my head. Who knows how long this not-meanness will last._

"About what?" Danny asked after a short pause between them. He did his best to pose the question casually in hopes of not sounding too intrusive or curious. The teen stopped for a moment before attempting a small smile. "I mean, besides the obvious," he added, tilting his head to momentarily glare at the ghosts watching them from behind the glass wall.

Running a hand through his hair with a faint smile of understanding as he, too, glanced out the glass wall at all the staring ghosts, Vlad said, "Well, yes. That's pretty obvious."

Then, in a sudden burst of aloud musings, Vlad said in a ranting rush, "I just don't understand how I'm going to escape with this horribly dysfunctional group. It's as if we were all designed to clash and fail one another. Melody is brilliant, but she has no purpose or direction. And if she does, she's too proud and secretive to ever show it. And despite all your efforts to keep the peace, no one seems to think about calmly coexisting with each other for more than a few haphazard minutes. I don't see why you try. Oh, and then there's Ryder! The man is positively the most harebrained person I have ever met. It's a wonder he even functions properly enough to dress himself in the morning. And another...thing..."

Vlad faded off in mid sentence as he realized that everything he had just been thinking had been said aloud. All in front of Danny, too. From the astonished look the boy was giving him, Vlad guessed Danny was just as stunned that Vlad had said anything as the man personally was. It was a good thing he had caught himself before saying more. Anymore would have led to disaster.

_You_ cannot _be losing it_, Vlad thought miserably to himself as he quickly got to his feet and began to pace.

Danny had to quickly snap his mouth shut to stop himself from grabbing Vlad and forcefully demanding, '_who are you and what did you do with the real Vlad_?' He had no idea how he managed to stop himself, but he did it. Instead, he just stared at the man as if he'd suddenly sprouted another head...which was an image he'd actually had the pleasure of seeing before.

_Alright, get ahold of yourself, Fenton_, the teen told himself, unable to drag his eyes away from the pacing Vlad. _I'm sure the Ghost Zone isn't gonna explode just because Vlad's actually talking to me. I mean, that'd be crazy...wouldn't it? Ok! Focus!_

Danny scooted a bit to the side to stay out of Vlad's reach in the tiny cell just in case the man snapped or something. He really looked like he was going to snap, and he'd also had the pleasure of seeing that expression before as well.

"Well, um..." Danny trailed off, striving to think of something not stupid to say. This was definitely worse than the closet the day before. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Ok, so maybe we don't really, y'know, mesh that well, but at least we all want the same thing, right? That counts for something...right?"

The boy rubbed the back of his neck and pushed himself on, "I mean, we totally got out of the room yesterday. We were out, and the Collector didn't even know. If we did it once, we can do it again."

Danny paused for a moment when he realized he was being optimistic. Being optimistic around Vlad usually didn't end so well. _Ok, try another tactic then_.

He cleared his throat and tried again, "And we're not so bad as a group. Melody's...not so bad sometimes, I guess. She sorta tried to maybe smile at me this morning. And Ryder, y'know, means well. In his own weird, retarded way. He really likes us, I think. And you! You're...you're you. You got Faze to help us. That was...cool..."

Danny broke off again when he realized he was just babbling like an idiot. He glanced up at Vlad and gave him a pathetic smile that he hoped would cheer him up but totally knew it wouldn't. He didn't know what else he could do at this point.

As Danny tried the best he could to cheer Vlad up, the man was hardly paying attention to what the teen was saying until his last few uncertain sentences. By then, Vlad realized what Danny was trying to do and sighed as he came to a stop in the middle of his pacing. While he appreciated the effort and admired the teen's tenancy at trying to sustain a certain level of harmony between everyone, Vlad wasn't feeling any better by the boy's optimistic and amicable methods. If anything, it was making him feel worse and more frustrated.

The man was sick of constantly feeling so keyed up and exasperated. The emotions weren't solely directed at the others, but at himself as unwanted doubt sometimes clogged his thinking. It was a never-ending cycle in him, and he feared that one of these days he was just going to explode with it. He had been so close to hurting Ryder in the closet the other day, and even recently he had accidentally poured a little of himself out to Danny. He worried what would come next if he didn't somehow find a way to stop the rampaging thoughts and emotions.

Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad glanced down at the teen as he muttered with a more respectful tone, "I don't need a cheerleader, Daniel. I just need..."_ An hour of privacy_, Vlad finished the sentence in his head. Instead, he said with a bitter smile, "Direction. Direction and an aspirin."

"Well, I don't have either of those things," Danny admitted, keeping the hesitant smile on his face as he gave a small shrug. He was just happy the man hadn't bitten his head off. Honestly, the guy wasn't so bad if he just acted like a normal person. Vlad was tolerable when he was like this. A part of Danny just wished the man would stay this way all the time. It'd make his life so much easier.

The teen glanced down at his feet as he said, "We could just talk. Jazz says talking about your problems helps when you're...stressed." He peeked up at Vlad, adding in a mumble, "If you want to. I mean, we don't have to or anything. I can just be quiet if you want."

Danny glanced away again so that he didn't have to see Vlad's reaction. He hated to have to walk on eggshells when it came to Vlad, but it was working for him so far. He really just wanted to get along with Vlad, as pathetic as it sounded. Even after all the man had done to him, he'd forget all of it if Vlad just started acting normal and nice and not evil. Was that really so much to ask?

Snorting in amused cynicism, Vlad folded his hands across his chest as he continued to stare down at Danny. He could hardly believe the teen was trying to make him open up...and in such a poorly disguised fashion. It was actually kind of funny. After stressing over so many things lately, it was kind of nice to know that Danny would still be there with his silly morals and ideals to toy with. In an ironic way, Danny was Vlad's only constant in his new, chaotic world.

Deciding the moment of silence between them was long enough, Vlad chuckled, "You're trying too hard, boy." Waving his hand frivolously in the air, he leaned back and said with a grin, "But, no. Go ahead. If you want to talk, don't let me stop you. This headache is going to continue whether you chatter away or not. I might actually listen this time. I have all day."

And just like that, there went the nice Vlad.

Danny could've sworn he heard a _poof_ sound as nice Vlad was instantly replaced with jerk Vlad. His stubborn frown returned as he raised his eyes to glare lightly at the man. Deep down, he understood that the guy couldn't help it, really, but it still wasn't fair. This whole situation wasn't fair, and it was finally starting to get to Danny.

"Why do you always do that?" Danny demanded, trying to hide his annoyance and hurt with anger. He took an angry breath and continued, the words pouring out in a rush before he could stop them. "Why can't you just be nice to me? Why can't you just act normal? We could get along just fine if you weren't such a jerk to me! I'm trying my best to get along with you, and you aren't even trying at all. You treat me like dirt all the time, and I try not to let it bother me, but it does! I didn't do anything to you! You're the one who starts everything! And it's-it's not fair!"

Danny stopped himself before he could go any further. He honestly couldn't believe he'd just said all that. He really wished he hadn't said all that. He wished he could take it back but there was nothing he could do. The boy just set his jaw and kept his eyes on Vlad, silently awaiting whatever crap he was probably going to dish out.

Needless to say, Vlad hadn't really expected such an outburst. He thought Danny was keeping it together very nicely. Actually, Vlad had been envious in an odd sense. The man thought he was about to crack every two seconds, and here he saw Danny acting all calm and peaceful around everyone for the most part; but Vlad now saw that he was all wrong. Danny was just on the edge of losing it too. He'd just been better at hiding it somehow.

Eyes narrowing after their initial widening of surprise, Vlad shrugged. "Life isn't fair, Daniel," he said evenly. "And like I've said before: you need to stop taking so many things so personally. So I'm a brutally honest man. There is little to no harm in that unless you actually take everything I say to heart."

Rolling his eyes, Vlad muttered with a hint of a smirk, "Most of the stuff I say to you is just to rile you up, because let's face it; quite honestly, it's fun." Vlad could only hope his teasing wouldn't spark off more of the boy's anger. He really wouldn't be able to handle another screaming match. If that happened, eventually someone was going to get hurt.

Danny had to grit his teeth to fight down a growl of frustration. He really wanted to keep yelling at Vlad. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was able to get all his anger and annoyance out in that one burst of shouting. It was nice. That was probably the only reason he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

If Vlad wanted to rile him up, he'd just make sure that he didn't get angry. Easier said than done, of course. Though, he had been doing pretty good lately. It didn't help that he was way out of his comfort zone.

"I know life isn't fair," Danny growled out, doing his best to keep his voice even. "If life was fair, I wouldn't be here. If life was fair, I wouldn't have these powers; I'd just be a normal kid with normal problems that didn't try to kill me every day. The worst thing I'd have to worry about is a stupid pop quiz in math class..."

The boy trailed off, tense shoulders slumping noticeably as his anger slowly leeched away. Danny realized that he didn't want to fight with Vlad. He just didn't anymore. It was stupid and pointless, and the guy wasn't going to be honest with him anyway so what was the point?

Danny sighed as he muttered, "If life was fair...you wouldn't be here, either."

Before he could catch himself, Vlad said under his breath resentfully, "If life was fair, you probably wouldn't even exist."

Danny tensed up all over again, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep himself from yelling. _I didn't hear that, I didn't hear that_, he silently told himself, hands curling into tight fists at his sides. _He didn't say that he wished I didn't exist. No, he didn't. I'm just hearing things, that's all..._ He shook his head and blew out a tight breath between his teeth, fighting desperately to stay in control of himself. That was, to date, the worst thing Vlad had ever said to him. That one actually hurt.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Vlad took it upon himself to lighten the mood or change the subject somehow. They still had a few hours left before lunch, and Vlad didn't want to spend them in separate corners sulking, stressing, and uselessly thinking of meaningless escape plans. In all honestly, he'd rather talk to Danny, which was saying a lot. Vlad couldn't believe it had come to this, but there was no denying it.

"Well," Vlad started with a grimace, "that talk undoubtedly went well. Very nice suggestion, by the way." Smiling at a thought, Vlad said with a tilt of his head, "You know, I wonder what Melody and Ryder talk about in their display cases. Their conversations are probably not as riveting as our usual arguments, I'm sure."

Eyes flaring green with anger, Danny spat out, "I'm sure Melody tells Ryder she wishes he hadn't been born all the time. You two are so much alike, after all."

Shoulders visually slumping with disappointment, Vlad looked away with a pained, grim expression on his face. He hadn't meant for Danny to hear that last part. After a moment to regain his thoughts, Vlad looked back down at Danny and said quietly, honestly, and yet also sternly, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Then you shouldn't have said it!" Danny snapped back at the man, his hands shaking from how hard he was squeezing them into fists. He was so angry, hurt, and frustrated that it was actually becoming harder to breathe. He was sure he'd never been this mad before, and the worst thing was, he couldn't even go anywhere. He was stuck there with the worst person on the planet.

Danny couldn't even say anything else. There was no way he could voice his emotions now. He just shoved his hands deep into his pockets and turned away from Vlad to glare out the display case window, eyes still glowing green.

For moment, Vlad seriously debated about just leaving Danny alone and blowing off the whole debacle of a conversation. That would be the easiest and most natural thing for Vlad to do. But one look at the furious, confused, and hurt teen turned away from him made Vlad pause for a second thought. While he and Danny were different in very many ways, there were a few things they actually shared. In that moment, Vlad knew exactly how Danny was feeling; and it was that instant recognition of indistinguishable emotions that spurned a hesitant flare of sympathy in Vlad.

_Damn, I'm going to have to fix this, aren't I?_ Vlad thought crossly to himself.

Slowly sliding up next to the teen, Vlad searched momentarily for something to say. "Look, Daniel," he began, "I'll admit. My comment was low." He wasn't going to say he didn't mean it, because that would just be a big, flat out lie, but he was willing to say it was harsh. "For what it's worth, though, it wasn't particularly directed towards you, if that makes any sense. I don't wish for you to never be born. However, it was more of a wish that things would have worked out differently in the past. You're the one who started the subject, might I add, but I suppose I might have gone too far."

Nervously scratching the side of his face with one hand, Vlad watched Danny for his reaction.

The boy refused to even turn and acknowledge Vlad. His anger was dying down, and he felt his eyes lose their green glow as his shoulders hunched. The annoying thing was that he could feel his eyes getting all watery, but it wasn't because he wanted to cry, he was just so annoyed. They were tears of stress and simmering anger. He felt like he'd reached the end of his rope with Vlad. Even when the guy was trying to apologize - if that's what he was doing - he still sounded like an unfeeling robot.

"Yeah," Danny finally croaked out, his voice strained. He chuckled bitterly and muttered, "What was your first clue?"

He couldn't say anymore. His shaky voice wouldn't allow it. Instead, he just clamped his mouth shut and stared at the floor. The pathetic thing was, he'd seen what Vlad's life would be like if he hadn't been born, and it _still_ didn't work out the way the man wanted it to. Because Danny knew this, the comment felt as if it had been meant to hurt him, as if that was Vlad's sole purpose in saying it. And Danny hated to admit that it had worked.

"My first clue?" Vlad muttered in confusion. "Well, it was probably when you starting yelling a-. Mmm. That was sarcasm." Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad grumbled, "Why am I not surprised?"

Looking down at Danny again, Vlad saw he wasn't making any headway with the teen. If anything, Danny looked more miserable now than he did before. Though he was tempted again to give up and walk away, the stubborn side inside Vlad wanted to keep going until things were at least semi-decent between him and Danny.

So after a second more of thought, Vlad placed his hand on Danny's shoulder and told him seriously, "I know you are frustrated, Daniel. Granted, I am too. A lot more than I probably let on. Everything is new, different, and difficult. We have no comfort, freedom, and even less privacy. Think about it: in the last month or so none of us has had more than 10 minutes alone to ourselves. Let's face it, our situation is designed for all of us to get on each other's nerves. We are bound to argue and fight because it's in our nature to do so.

"But the point I'm trying to make here is that we should not let that discourage us. Yes, I made a mistake today; you might make one tomorrow. It does not matter. What does matter is that we learn to tolerate each other more. If we can do that, we can worry less about our little...dramatical quarrels and focus more on escaping. Therefore," Vlad paused in his uncertainty, but he plowed on nonetheless, "I suppose I'm willing to do that if you are."

Once the man had finished, Danny slowly raised his eyes from the floor and looked up at Vlad. Though he wasn't the best at reading people, he wanted to try and see the BS in Vlad's words. Surprisingly enough, he didn't sense any. Vlad actually sounded _and_ looked honest. Not to mention, his hand wasn't painfully crushing his shoulder like it ordinarily would have been if Vlad ever decided to touch him.

All of this was weird and new to Danny, but not in a bad way. He really hadn't had someone be nice to him sense they'd been brought to this museum. He hadn't realized how much he missed it until now. This niceness was making him feel very vulnerable because it made him think of his dad giving him a bone-crushing hug or his mom kissing him on the cheek. All things he'd hated before coming here but now missed desperately when he was at his worst.

The saying: _you don't know what you have until it's gone_, had never meant so much to him before.

Danny swallowed down the tears he felt burning in his eyes and nodded to Vlad. "I can...I can do that," he quietly agreed. He was worried that his sentimental emotions were coming out in his voice, but that fear didn't stop him from adding in a mumble, "I don't want to fight anymore."

"Exactly," Vlad said, relieved to finally see a response from Danny that wasn't angry.

At that moment, Vlad realized his hand was on the teen's shoulder. He hadn't meant to do that. Quickly, he jerked his hand away and put both his hands on his hips as he said, "We can save all our disagreements for when we get out of here. Only when we're back home and settled down in Amity Park again then we can fight till our hearts' content. Until then, we endure."

With a wry smile, Vlad added half jokingly, "That's a promise I'm only making with you. Ryder is a different story. That man is lucky to be alive at this point."

Danny surprised himself by smiling. He had no clue where it came from or how it had gotten onto his face, but he didn't mind so much. Smiling was way better than sulking, that was for sure.

"I don't doubt that," he agreed with Vlad. A small laugh escaped him when he really thought about how sad that statement was. It wasn't like Ryder tried to annoy the crap out of everyone; it just happened. He probably didn't even realize what he was doing...or maybe he did. Ryder was one of the weirdest people on the planet, so who really knew what was going on in his mind?

The teen leaned his back against the wall and said reasonably, "He does mean well, though. And he's gotta trust us if he actually told you he stole from you." Danny paused before adding curiously, "Did you even know that something was missing from your company? You seemed more shocked about that than Ryder randomly bringing it up."

"My company is a big one," Vlad pointed out, easing into a slow, thoughtless pace. "Although I'm the CEO, I cannot possibly know about and remember every, single robbery that goes down in all the branches. I also have a town to run. I'm too busy to be bothered by trifle things being stolen. Now, if someone had told me about whatever was stolen, that would mean it was very important. Honestly, it was the audacity and stupidity of the man to confess it in such a confined area that made me so angry. Clear, blatant stupidity like that is what I cannot stand.

"Oh, I'm sure he means well," Vlad continued, trying his best not to sound fully irritated. "That's what makes him so obnoxious. He's oblivious and aloof about everything, making it hard to blame him for anything. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he is faking it all. But that's not possible. No body can keep up an act like that for this long. Perhaps it's a psychological thing. Ryder probably wasn't this flippant about everything before he was captured. This might be simply a coping mechanism."

Danny did his best not to laugh again. He didn't think he'd ever met someone before who could irritate Vlad in this way. It was definitely unique and hilarious because Vlad had obviously spent some time thinking about Ryder's own brand of crazy. Though, he had to admit, wackiness like that was hard to ignore.

"Maybe," Danny said, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced upwards in thought. "Sometimes, though, I totally think he's faking. He gets these looks, y'know? Like he's actually aware of what's going on..." Danny bit down another laugh when he said it. Even though it was true, it still sounded completely ridiculous.

The boy grinned as he suggested thoughtfully, "We should test him somehow. See if we can get him to snap or something, 'cause I've never seen him angry. Not once." He stopped to think about how bad that sounded before adding to sound less evil, "It could be like a science experiment."

Vlad was taken aback by Danny's developed reasoning and especially his suggestion. Coming to a halt, Vlad studied the boy to check for falsehoods. The man had a right to be suspicious of the sarcastic teen. Just like Vlad, Danny liked to tease. Finding no lies, Vlad leaned back and let a dry, thin smile cross his face. This was an interesting development.

"A science experiment," Vlad repeated, keeping down a chuckle at just the thought of Danny unsuccessfully trying not to sound so evil with such a miserable excuse. Nodding, Vlad said, "We could do that. Might keep our minds off how annoying he is, actually."

His curiosity outweighing his sensibility, Danny eagerly nodded in agreement with Vlad. "That's what I'm thinking," he said, rubbing his chin. He really was curious to know how much of Ryder was actually unintentional. It'd been bugging him ever since the man had totally hugged the crap out of him that first day.

"Like, just try to make him mad, I guess," Danny mused, unsure of what exactly they could do to test their theory. He shrugged and looked up at Vlad with a cheeky grin. "You're better at this creepy science stuff than me."

"Oh, am I now?" Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow and a sardonic grin. "I'm not the one who was born into a family of strange ghost scientists. While science is my hobby on the side, it's your parents' career. Anyways, we're getting off track. There are plenty of methods to make someone angry."

Rubbing his chin in thought, Vlad said, "Ryder loves attention. We could try ignoring him; although, that is easier said than done."

"Yeah, don't try ignoring him," the teen said dryly, shaking his head as he remembered the time he'd attempted to do so. "It doesn't work. Trust me."

"Maybe we could give him a taste of his own medicine and steal something of his."

Danny stopped for a moment, eyebrows furrowing as he thought about Vlad's last statement. "Oh! Wait a minute!" Danny snapped his fingers in the signature sign of _ah-ha_! "We can totally take his necklace while he's sleeping and hide it somewhere. Then act like we don't know what he's talking about when he asks where it went. It's got that ring on it that the one ghost stole a while ago."

Danny laughed and grinned. "Oh, man, that would so work."

Vlad carefully watched as Danny came to his ultimate solution of stealing Ryder's necklace. He'd never seen the teen think up something so diabolical. Of course, it was a petty scheme that not even Vlad would have devised under normal circumstances, but he had offered it up only for Danny's sake. And to Vlad's slight amazement, the boy had grabbed onto it hook, line, and sinker. It was almost comical.

"There's an idea. I actually like that idea," Vlad said, "But where would we hide it? It couldn't be in our cabin. He's going to ransack the place to find it; there's no doubt about that. So we will have to put in a place where he won't initially find it."

With a clear expression, Vlad watched patiently for Danny's reaction.

Danny's response was almost instantaneous. "Melody's cabin. She won't even let us in there. He'll never find it unless we tell him."

The boy placed his hands proudly on his hips and grinned as his plan came together. It was really more for fun than anything else at this point. He'd been so bored lately, and it would be nice to do something interesting that didn't involve failed escape attempts. Not to mention, no one was gonna get hurt, and they'd figure out a little more about Ryder's strangeness. It was a win-win situation.

In Vlad's case, it was a win-win situation too, but for completely different reasons. While it would be nice to turn the tables on Ryder and discover more about the man without physically hurting him, Vlad was more interested in how his new partner in crime was handling it all. With a little nudge here and there, the boy had come to the idea and conclusion all by himself.

Vlad was especially interested in how far Danny would take this. Did the boy even understand the consequences to what he was proposing? Vlad knew them very well, but he didn't care enough about Ryder and Melody to point the potential outcomes out to the teen. The whole thing could end in disaster, but Vlad doubted Danny knew this yet. He'd just have to wait and see.

So while Danny was fixing up his own science project, Vlad was preparing himself for two: with Danny being the main subject.

Grinning, Vlad nodded as he said, "It sounds like a plan."

A/N: Oh, Danny, you have no clue what you're getting yourself into. Ha ha! Well, not much else to say but that I'll see you readers this weekend, and thanks for being patient with me and my dumb school schedule messing up with my updates. Later!


	11. Chapter 11 Dangerous Ideas

A/N: Yay for posting relatively on time this week and not skipping a week! I'm quite proud of myself. Ha ha! Seriously, though, it feels good to be establishing a good schedule. Well, not much else to say but please enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. All other characters and ideas are ours, though, and so please don't touch 'em without permission.

Last Time in The Collector: Danny and Vlad got into another rather ugly word fight, but they somehow got out of it a truce for both of them to tolerate each other until they escaped. Innocently wanting some fun, Danny suggested playing a prank on Ryder to see if the man was acting weird on purpose or not by stealing his necklace. Curious as to how far Danny would go with his "science" experiment, Vlad is set on pushing the teen along with it until the very end.

Chapter 11 Dangerous Ideas

From the instant Ryder's eyes opened in the morning, he knew something was wrong. His eyes widened as he yanked his head out from beneath the pillow it had been buried under all night, his hand shooting up to feel at his throat. There was nothing there. That wasn't right. There should've been stuff there, but there wasn't.

The man made a move to leap out of the bed, but he only ended up smacking his skull into the bottom of the bunk above him. "Davy Jones' locker!" he cried out, falling to the side out of his bed in the most dramatic way imaginable.

Cringing from the pain in his head, Ryder pushed himself onto his butt. He stared straight ahead, his hands searching his clothes for his necklace. It should've been there, but it wasn't. He'd never lost his necklace before. Not once. Ryder spun around and started shoving his blankets aside to thoroughly search his bed. His search came up empty. Trying to stay calm, the thief scooted around the floor on his knees, trying to see if he'd somehow dropped it during the night.

As Ryder continued to hunt, Danny propped himself up on the top bunk and peered over to watch. _So it begins_, he thought to himself with an inner laugh. "Hey, what're you doing, Ryder?" the teen called down to the man.

Ryder didn't even raise his head or get up from his hands and knees as he replied in a mumble, "Mmnhhmm." Without saying anymore, he squeezed himself under his bed on his stomach and looked around.

Raising an eyebrow, Danny leaned over the side of his bed and winked down at Vlad who had also been pretending to sleep as they waited for Ryder to finally get up.

Smiling wryly back up at Danny, Vlad carefully sat up and listlessly watched Ryder dismantle his side of the room. The man reminded Vlad of a hyperactive squirrel searching for its nuts. Too bad there was none to be found.

Standing and stretching after another night of very little and fitful sleep, Vlad studied the frantic Ryder. So far he seemed more upset about losing the necklace than anything else. The blame game wouldn't be started till later, Vlad predicted.

"Do I even want to ask what you are looking for?" Vlad finally asked Ryder, hands on hips. "Your sanity, perhaps?"

Ryder pulled himself out from under his bed and rapidly looked around, his face pulled into a tight, frantic frown. He tried his best not to hyperventilate like he had the other day for fear of breaking down all over again. He didn't wanna do that again. It sucked. Sucked a lot, actually!

"My...my...no-no!" Ryder jumped to his feet, both hands placed atop his head as he began to pace erratically around the cabin. His eyes didn't stay still for a moment as he looked around, muttering incoherently under his breath. "No, no, don't lose things. Never lose things. That's not right. I just had it. Can't have lost it. Don't do that."

Slowly sliding out of his bed and dropping to the floor beside Vlad, Danny silently watched Ryder going insane. He glanced up at Vlad and shrugged. "Guess that's your answer," he said with a grin.

"You can't lose something you never had," Vlad told the man, letting a small, evil smile slip onto his face. Sometimes the man just couldn't help himself.

That insult said, Vlad decided to take his leave. Shaking his head, he left the cabin. It would take some time for Ryder to discover his necklace wasn't anywhere in the building. Till then, Vlad was going to have some breakfast.

"Vlad! Vlad, wait!" Ryder suddenly yelped as he snapped himself out of whatever trance he'd been in. He spun on his heel, almost fell over his feet in his haste to catch up with the half-ghost, and gripped the man's arm desperately. He looked up at Vlad with pleading eyes as he rapidly babbled, "Have you seen my necklace? Really important! I didn't lose it, I promise! I don't lose things, but I can't find it, and I know I had it, but I don't have it now!"

Danny sensed the impending doom that was going to happen, and he quickly approached the two men, his steps wary. Ryder was touching Vlad. That was never a good thing. "Ryder...? Maybe you should let go now?" the teen suggested, holding his hands up to try and calm the spastic thief down.

It was like Ryder hadn't even heard him; he was too focused on Vlad. "Please, please, tell me you saw it," he begged the man, clinging to him as if he was a life preserver keeping him afloat in a stormy sea.

Making a face, Vlad wordlessly tried to shake Ryder off him but to no avail. The man was hardly paying attention to what Ryder was saying as he switched tactics and tried to pull his arm out of Ryder's grip. This proved to be profitless too.

Quickly becoming frustrated, Vlad growled down into Ryder's face, "No. I haven't seen it. Now kindly remove yourself from my arm before I break yours."

Ryder slowly closed his mouth, silently deciding to not question Vlad any further. The half-ghost was still mad about the closet thing the other day. Maybe it'd be best not to make him madder. Eyes sliding to the side, Ryder released Vlad and grabbed Danny instead.

"Danny! Necklace! Seen it?" he demanded in a breathless rush. Cringing slightly from the man's death grip on both his upper arms, Danny could only shake his head. Ryder ripped his hands away from the teen and threw them in the air as he yelled, "Guh! Useless!"

That sound effect properly exclaimed, Ryder spun back around and stormed into the cabin. There was a single moment of silence before chaos could clearly be heard coming from inside. Slowly, Danny turned his head and stared at Vlad. "I don't think...maybe we should just give it back to him," he said, grimacing at a particularly loud, unpleasant sound.

Yesterday Danny had been excited to play this little harmless prank on Ryder, but now he wasn't feeling so sure about it. He guessed it was more fun when he hid things from Sam and Tuck because he knew how they were going to react. This was different. Way different.

Staying as nonchalant as ever while he busied himself by rolling up his sleeves, Vlad asked Danny as they walked away from the cabin, "Why? Because he seems a little frantic? Ryder by nature is frenetic; therefore, this reaction of his right now is natural. If you want to see results, you'll have to wait a few hours."

Danny chewed on the inside of his cheek and glanced back at the cabin. "Yeah...I guess you're right," he admitted before forcing himself to follow after Vlad. The guy did have a point. Ryder was kind of a spazz most of the time. He guessed that was natural.

The two half-ghosts hadn't taken two steps away before their cabin door was flung open again. Ryder stumbled out, panting hard, clothes ruffled, eyes more wild than usual. He glared off in the direction of the basketball courts and began to stomp in that direction.

"Oh...that's not good," Danny mumbled to himself. He turned and grabbed Vlad's sleeve to stop him from walking away. "Vlad, I don't think this is a good thing. He's walking towards the ghosts. We should stop him, shouldn't we?"

Sliding his hands into his pockets and looking over his shoulder to see what Ryder was doing, Vlad said, "He's fine. He'll find out soon enough that none of the ghosts took his necklace. By then he might be angry enough for us to call the experiment completed and done with."

While Danny was looking back toward Ryder, Vlad lowered his gaze to the teen. He assumed it was only in the last few minutes that Danny had thought about the repercussions to his actions. There was going to be a point where Danny wouldn't be able to go on anymore with their experiment despite all Vlad's pushing and prodding. The man was simply interested to see how far Danny could go.

Smiling to himself, Vlad thought dryly, _An idea is a dangerous thing._

Danny watched Ryder until he disappeared off behind Melody's cabin. He understood what Vlad meant, but this just didn't feel right. This stupid experiment had stopped being fun since it started. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to do it anymore. He glanced back up at Vlad, eyebrows furrowed uncertainly.

"...Alright," he unwillingly agreed, grimacing the entire time he said the word. Maybe if he just distracted himself with disgusting food he wouldn't feel so bad.

Shaking his head, Danny walked past Vlad, grabbed his tray, and got his food. He sat down at a table by himself and stared pensively down at the gunk, doing his best to focus on the food and not the sudden silence that had descended over the room.

Likewise, Vlad got his food and sat down to calmly wait for the real chaos to begin. A few times he would glance over to Danny to see how he was reacting. For the most part, the boy looked uneasy. This game wasn't fun anymore for Danny, but for some reason he was still going along with it.

Soon enough, Melody showed up with her tray. She plopped her food down on the table while asking curiously, "What's the matter with Ryder? It's too early for him to be trying to beat up Chauser." She sighed before shaking her head and saying, "I swear, the crazy never sleep."

Danny nearly dropped his spoon as he looked up at Melody. "What?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. He didn't want Ryder to hurt himself! That wasn't cool at all! Just before he could jump out of his seat and go rescue the wacky man, he was brought to a halt by the sounds of fighting. A moment later, Ryder stumbled into the sight of the three seated at the table.

He was growling as he tried to yank away the tiny ghost that was clinging to his head and shoulders like a very upset spider. Chauser let out a hissing sound as he whacked Ryder in the side of the head with a small, blue fist. "Ow!" Another hit, another stumble. "Ow! Cut it out!" Two more hits, two more yelps of pain. "I'm gonna sit on you until you're nothing but a stupid ghost pancake, you little twerp!"

Unable to get the ghost off him, Ryder did the only thing he could do. He threw himself to the ground on his back and let his momentum carry him in a roll that brought him smoothly back to his feet, minus one annoying and angered ghost. Ryder took a fighting stance, eyes locked on Chauser as the ghost floated back upright.

"For the last time, I didn't take anything of yours," Chauser snarled, angrily shaking his head.

"I don't believe you!" Ryder yelled back, shoving a dramatic pointed finger at the ghost. "Give it back! Give it back now!" Before Chauser could reply, he rushed forward and tried to grab the ghost in a headlock. Anticipating the move, Chauser simply teleported himself away from Ryder, looking highly frustrated.

"Stop-!" Ryder lunged forward again and missed as Chauser teleported himself backwards. "Doing-!" He leapt forward again, forcing Chauser to move further away. He was only feet away from running into Melody's cabin. "That! You freakin' jerk!" Ryder finished, throwing himself out in a last ditch attempt to grab Chauser.

The ghost really had no other option but to teleport into Melody's cabin, and he did without hesitation; leaving Ryder to slam headfirst into the still closed door. He slumped down to his knees, whining pitifully at the horrible pain in his forehead. He just knew that was going to bruise. No way that wasn't going to bruise.

Ignoring his pain to focus on retrieving his necklace, Ryder shoved himself back to his feet and flung Melody's door open. He prepared to go in after Chauser, but his feet seemed glued to the floor just before he could enter the cabin. Ryder leaned forward, glaring down at his boots as if willing them to just cooperate with him. He knew he wasn't supposed to go in there, but he had to! There was no other choice!

Ryder squeezed his eyes shut, apologized in his head to Melody for breaking her rules, and charged into the cabin with a loud battle cry.

Everyone at the table was too stunned at first to react. Melody's rules had been clear since the beginning: nobody was allowed inside her cabin, not even Ryder. To keep the peace, everyone had agreed. So to see that rule so blatantly disobeyed came as a surprise to everyone to the point that silence reined for about half a minute before the mess began.

_And now it starts,_ Vlad thought with inner amusement.

Melody blinked once, twice, and then suddenly threw herself out of her seat with a yelp of indignation. "Ryder!" she screamed as she stumbled to her feet and ran for her private quarters. "Ryder! Get your ass out of my room!"

"Job well done, Daniel," Vlad said without taking his eyes off the cabin where both Melody and Ryder had disappeared into. "Instead of making one person angry, we managed to make two. You should feel proud." Only then did Vlad glance at the teen.

Danny looked sick to his stomach, and it wasn't from the food this time. He'd never wanted this to happen, but things had spiraled out of his control the moment he decided to do this stupid experiment. That was such a mistake, such a big mistake. _What was I thinking_? he silently asked himself, but he had no answer.

Hastily standing up, Danny did his best to ignore Vlad's eyes. The guilt he was feeling was already bad enough without Vlad having to make him feel worse. "This was so stupid," he mumbled to the man as he took off after Melody. He arrived at the cabin in moments and didn't hesitate to step inside when he realized nobody was shouting.

The first thing he heard was Ryder muttering, "Melody? W-why did you take my necklace?" However, the first thing he saw was the inside of Melody's cabin. Needless to say, it was _nothing_ like theirs. Not even close.

First off, it didn't smell like sweat, mold, and men. The scent was clean yet stuffy; but the small room's fragrance wasn't the thing that stood out the most. Every wall was covered with collected technological materials Melody must have found around the museum. Dozens of gutted circuit boards of ranging sizes were intricacy hung from the walls in elaborate, orderly patterns. Stripped copper wires splayed like pretty, little fans on the wall or were used to keep the diagrams on the walls connected. From the ceiling dangled the same kind of odd, complex compositions of technological masterpiece. If an expert squinted hard enough at the mess, they could see the mathematical theme of the beautiful designs. Each diagram was some complicated math formula or equation. Compiled together the pieces just looked like a pretty heap of computer junk, but underneath there was a method to the madness.

Vlad was only a few steps behind the teen. His reaction to the room was the same as Danny's. From the door where they both stood, the man looked around the room in utter wonder before shaking his head and focusing on what was happening between Melody and Ryder. Unlike the rest of the room, it was not a pretty sight.

"I...I didn't...how could you accuse _me_?" Melody was saying to Ryder, her voice strained with emotion. She was trying very hard to keep herself together, but Vlad could see the small cracks in her facade. She was either on the brink of exploding with anger or tears. "You know I would never do that to you! Not ever!"

Ryder was staring back down at Melody as he clutched his necklace to his chest. The look on his face reminded Danny of a puppy that had just been kicked by its beloved master. He wasn't mad. No, he was just hurt and confused as to why his best friend in this place had stolen something from him.

"Then-then-then why is this here?" he demanded, his voice shaking with inner turmoil. Though he was shouting, Ryder still didn't sound angry. He just sounded like he was going to cry. "And-and what is all this stuff? Why didn't you tell me you-you had all this stuff? A-and Mel, y-you're my friend! I would never-never ever steal from you! You pr-promised you'd never steal from me. You promised!"

Hands clutched into tight fists at her sides, Melody was too beside herself to answer at first. The girl shook her head furiously, as if trying to throw off the cumbersome emotions clogging her logic.

"I _did_ promise!" she finally screamed back up at Ryder. "And I never broke that promise! I didn't steal your necklace! Why-why would I steal it? It doesn't make any sense!"

Standing silently in the doorway, Vlad waited for the girl to get it. He knew she'd make the connection soon. It was the calamity of the situation that was slowing her reasoning down. But as if on cue, Vlad saw the spark of realization hit Melody's face before she turned her head to glare scathingly at the half ghosts standing dumbly in her doorway.

"You two," Melody growled, pointing an accusingly finger at Danny and Vlad. "What the hell is this? One of you must have stolen the necklace. Or was it both of you? Tell us!"

Danny could only stare stupidly back at Melody, horror plastered all over his expression. He couldn't believe this was all happening. Ryder wasn't supposed to find the necklace, he wasn't supposed to blame Melody, and Melody wasn't supposed to figure it out and blame them.

"We-we...no," Danny stuttered out, shaking his head numbly. He didn't know what to say to make this situation better. Melody and Ryder would be so mad at him when they found out this was all his stupid idea. Sure, he deserved their blame, but he didn't want either of them angry with him. How could he keep everyone calm in the future if they knew what he'd done today?

The teen swallowed hard when Ryder's eyes moved away from Melody and landed on him and Vlad. The look on his face was downright pathetic. "Danny wouldn't- he wouldn't do that," he murmured, his voice sounding choked with emotion. His gaze moved up to Vlad, and he frowned sadly as if silently recognizing the fact that Vlad would and probably had.

Vlad saw that everyone's attention now rested solely on him. Melody looked almost sick with anger, as if she was seconds away from biting his head off. Danny seemed too horrified to speak. He had definitely never predicted or wanted the results to his experiment coming out like they were now. Ryder's expression was what took the cake. The wound that inflicted him had cut very deep, and the man didn't seem to know exactly what he was doing to do with such an injury.

All in all, the mood of the room wasn't a pleasant one. It was the mood Vlad had predicted yet hadn't bothered to stop. And for one of the first times in his life, Vlad didn't know why he'd let things come to this. He didn't see why he had allowed this kind of disaster to happen.

But he knew how to fix it.

Sighing in preparation, Vlad looked Ryder straight in the eye and half lied, "I was the one who stole the necklace and hid it here. You steal something of mine, and I'll steal something of yours, Mr. Walker. Now we're even."

For several moments, the room went deathly quiet as if no one knew exactly what to say. Danny could only stare up at Vlad, completely dumbstruck by what the man had done. He'd just taken responsibility for this whole fiasco when he really hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. That didn't make sense, and Danny had no clue what to say or do. He was too shocked to do anything but look across the room and wince at the expressions on the thieves' faces.

It only took one look into Ryder's upset face for Danny to realize how wrong he'd been in thinking that the man was faking who he was. There was no doubt in the teen's mind now that Ryder wasn't acting and never had been. He realized at that moment that this experiment had done nothing but hurt, and there was nothing he could do to take that hurt back.

"I said I was sorry..." Ryder whispered, dropping his eyes to stare down at the floor. His shoulders were slumped, his entire demeanor appearing completely defeated. Danny had never seen the man look like that, not even when they'd gotten stuck in the closet. It was something completely different and almost painful to see coming from someone who was always so upbeat and ready to smile.

Vlad said and did nothing but observe the scene before him. The feeling of satisfaction he thought he'd experience didn't arrive like the man wanted. He'd successfully made Ryder pay for his former actions of thievery, and yet Vlad didn't feel very happy about it or pleased with himself. Instead, he felt nothing. Simply nothing. He didn't understand or like it.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you?" Melody suddenly shouted, taking a bold step toward Vlad. She was too short to get into his face, but she most surely tried as she snarled up at him like an exploding volcano, "We're supposed to be getting along, and you're screwing it up on purpose! Why? Are you really that hellbent on destroying everything? How can you be so...so heartless?"

_Ding!_

The room seemed to freeze at the sudden, cheerful sound that was entirely too perversely jolly for their current predicament.

Having time to haphazardly gather his emotions and thoughts, Vlad managed to say evenly, "Think of it as a settlement of accounts between Mr. Walker and I and leave it at that. We're done here."

That said and done, Vlad grabbed Danny's arm, turned around, and began to march toward their display case without a word. His eyes were narrowed and staring straight ahead. A frown had developed on his lips, but the expression was only there to hide his true emotion of confusion. He realized he didn't understand anything, and he was trying not to let that fact distress him.

Danny had to struggle to keep up with Vlad's quick strides, but he said nothing about it. He had no idea what he could say, and it didn't exactly help that the man's grip was totally crushing his arm. To avoid having to actually speak, Danny clamped his mouth shut and let himself be dragged into their display case without a word exchanged between them.

As the sliding doors locked behind them, Danny unwillingly raised his gaze to meet Vlad's. He couldn't decipher the look on the man's face, but he seemed really upset, and he had every right to be. Forcing himself not to pull out of Vlad's painful grasp, Danny quietly murmured, "I'm sorry. I...I didn't want that to happen. If I'd known..."

The boy trailed off and looked away. There was nothing more he could say.

"Exactly!" Vlad exploded while he let Danny go and spun around to face him. "You never seem to fully understand any of the consequences to your actions, Daniel! You never look ahead! You always blindly leap forward, having faith that luck will catch your every, single fall. You understand now? You understand how incredibly stupid and wasteful you can be with your silly powers? Power alone won't get you anywhere. You have to know what you're doing. You have to know what you want and how to get, or you end up with what happened out there! Next time I won't be there to save your reputation. You understand?"

Danny had taken a quick step back when Vlad started yelling at him, frightened that he'd get a punch to the face along with the lecture. Somehow, though, that didn't happen, but the anxiety still remained. The boy kept his mouth shut as he looked right up at Vlad and nodded quickly, his inner fear written plainly on his face.

"Y-yeah, yeah," Danny whispered. "I understand."

With his point made and all the yelling out of his system, Vlad finally noticed how scared Danny looked. It was a rare sight to see the teen so frightened. It almost alarmed Vlad. He hadn't meant to frighten him...well, maybe a little, but not as much as what was clearly being displayed. For a second time that day, Vlad regretted a bit of his actions. Though he hated to admit it, Vlad knew his order of conduct lately was shoddy at best. He didn't know what was wrong with himself.

Taking a step back, Vlad closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose to calm his boil of emotions of turmoil. At last, he stated in a flat tone, "I didn't mean to yell."

Sighing heavily as if trying to shrug off his many problems, Vlad put his hands on his hips and stared out of the glass wall at the crowd. Quietly, and more to himself, he muttered, "Shouldn't have let it get that far."

Danny rubbed his right arm quickly to try and calm himself down as he warily watched Vlad. It wasn't just the man's shouting that had scared him, it was what had just happened with Melody and Ryder. The whole situation was just horrifying. He'd almost broken up their entire group with one, big stupid mistake. It was scary how quickly things almost blew up in their faces.

The teen calmed his breathing and focused back on Vlad, doing his best to put his thoughts in order. "It was my fault," he mumbled, lowering his head to stare at his feet. "I shouldn't have even...I'm sorry. You're-you're right, Vlad. I don't think things through like I should..."

Danny glanced up at Vlad and shook his head as he asked, "Why did you take the blame for it? It's my fault..." He sighed and looked away again. "I'm so stupid."

"Stop apologizing. It's useless. This fiasco is both our faults," Vlad grumbled back as he glanced over to Danny again. "I saw that reaction coming and never thought to stop it. I should have, though. It's going to be hard to regain their trust and even harder to get everyone to cooperate in order to escape."

Pausing, Vlad studied Danny for a moment before explaining in a weary voice, "I took the blame because the results would have been worse if they thought it was you. Your role so far has been someone who keeps the peace. You're a constant in their lives. You're predictable. You're someone they can easily trust whether they want to or not. To lose a connection like that in that way would be disastrous.

"Furthermore, it couldn't be blamed on both of us or it would have turned into a power struggle between them and us. We can't afford that. Therefore, the best solution was for me to take the entire blame. They didn't have much trust in me to begin with, so there isn't as much damage done."

"You...thought that was going to happen?" Danny questioned slowly, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked up at the man. He frowned, closing his mouth before he could say anymore. He wanted to think this one through.

Vlad actually sounded kind of guilty about what had happened. He even said that he saw it as being both of their faults. Danny didn't see how Vlad could be in the wrong on this one. The man hadn't done anything, had he? He'd just sort of encouraged him to keep going with the scheme. That didn't merit guilty feelings, did it?

Danny's frown deepened, and he stepped back from the man. Vlad had known all along that this wouldn't end well, yet he hadn't bothered to stop him. Why? He obviously knew what would happen with Ryder and Melody, so why hadn't Vlad stopped him? He knew that they all needed each other. Why would he try to ruin their possible escape?

It all came together at once, forcing Danny to move yet another step away from Vlad. "Maybe you are trying to ruin it," the boy murmured before he could stop himself. "Because...because you like all of us. We're all dysfunctional, but you like that. It makes you feel less weird." Danny shook his head, thinking back to the compromise Vlad had offered him the day before. "And you don't like that you like us. It screws up your image, doesn't it?"

Beyond dumbfounded by the boy's altercation, Vlad stared at Danny as if the boy had just sprouted wings from his head. "Why would you-?" Vlad started, stopped, and quickly rephrased his question as her rubbed his chin in distress. How did things get this messy?

"Why would I _want_ to ruin what shred of a relationship I had going with everyone here?" he demanded, trying to sound more in control than he felt. "What you're saying makes no sense, boy. People don't destroy relationships they like because they _enjoy_ those people. They destroy them because they _dislike_ them. And I didn't mean to wreck this one! I mean, I don't particularly enjoy any of you. The relationship was simply a means to escape. So why would I want to destroy that relationship when my main goal from the beginning and which still remains is escape?"

Danny resolutely crossed his arms over his chest and matched Vlad's stare. "Because it freaks you out," he stated, stubbornly raising his chin. "You don't know what it's like to actually relate to people, and that freaks you out. We're all stuck in the same situation, and you don't know what to do so you try to make us not like you. You want Melody and Ryder to think you're the bad guy. You're right that _people_ don't try to ruin relationships they enjoy, but _you_ do. You're not a normal person, Vlad."

"Of course I'm not normal!" Vlad snapped back instinctively. "What was your first clue, Daniel? Was it the fact that I'm half ghost? Surely that must have given it away."

But even as he retorted all this in his defense, Vlad knew Danny meant much more than the simple addition of ghost powers when he told Vlad he wasn't normal. Although Vlad hadn't necessarily wanted Ryder and Melody to hate him and deem him evil, he had wanted to get his revenge on Ryder and teach Danny a lesson using a very destructive method. It was a method that wasn't normal, as Danny would call it. And usually Vlad would have gotten some kind of pleasure out of that, but today he found none of that. Instead, he felt frustrated and terribly isolated.

_He's right,_ Vlad found himself thinking, gut wrenching at such an offensive notion. _He's right. I'm not normal._

Danny looked right back at Vlad, his expression firm and serious. He knew that he was right. He just knew it in his gut. Instead of getting angry at the man, Danny simply shrugged and flashed a short grin. "Sarcasm," he said with a playful roll of his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

-Melody and Ryder-

A group of ghost guards roughly shoved Ryder into his display case just as the doors slid shut and locked behind him. Ryder stumbled from the force of the guards' push and fell heavily to his hands and knees. Ordinarily, he would've jumped right back up as if nothing was wrong, but not today. Instead, he just sat there, his head lowered, shoulders shaking slightly.

His head was hurting way more than it should've been, he could feel a huge bump across his forehead, and his right eye felt all swollen up. It was terrible. And now he was stuck in his display case with those freaky ghosts watching his every move. And the room was so, so small. It was so hard to breathe in small places.

Ryder didn't say anything to Melody. He could feel her eyes on him, but he couldn't say anything. For once, no point of conversation was coming to mind.

"Oh, I'm so _pissed_!" Melody seethed as she began to pace the display case. Hands and arms flinging every which way as she walked and talked, Melody shouted angrily, "Why would Vlad do that? _Ahrg!_ I don't care at this point! All I care about is beating the evil man to a pulp! He deserves a good slap in the face for what he did to you, Ryder! Sure, you stole from him, but what did he care? _Ug!_ I thought he wanted to escape more than get his revenge on you. And he did it in such a petty fashion too! _Gah!_ Freaking! I'm so angry right now!"

Still pacing, Melody fell silent for a minute or two as if getting ready for another boiling over of emotions before exploding again. "Aren't you angry?" she asked Ryder furiously. "Come on! What he did was way beyond low! You should be indignant, Ryder! Ryder...oh, what's the matter? You haven't said a word this whole time. Are you hurt?"

Melody had slowed her pacing to a sudden stop when she realized Ryder wasn't saying or doing anything. She suddenly felt awkward and out of place. She'd never seen her friend so down trodden.

"No..." Ryder mumbled, his voice barely audible. He pushed himself onto his butt and scooted back until he was able to lean against the far wall of the cell. He liked to be as far away from the ghosts as he could. He stared straight ahead, sitting unnaturally still. It was like all the Ryder-ness had been sucked out of him. The man kept his head turned away from Melody so she couldn't see all the bruising thanks to Chauser.

Ryder grimaced as he stretched his long legs out in front of him, continuing to avoid Melody's eyes. "I'm...I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Mel," he whispered, voice rasping as he spoke. He closed his eyes and placed his hand over his chest, resting it above his necklace. He wasn't going to lose it again, never again. It was too important.

Melody's shoulders slumped as Ryder's words forced her to remember his accusations toward her earlier. Chewing on her lower lip, Melody naturally played with her hair. Her hands never really knew what to do when she was nervous or stressed. They tended to just do what they wanted.

"Well, you had your reasons to suspect me," Melody said quietly, looking around the room dismissively. "I _am_ a thief, and the necklace _was_ in my cabin. And I know how much you treasure that thing. If I had something to remind me of the real world like that, I might have reacted the same way."

"Yeah," Ryder mumbled after a short pause. He lowered his head and sniffled quietly. He went silent for a moment before dragging an arm across his face. He wasn't trembling as badly as he usually would and that was nice, but the only reason he wasn't was because of how terrible he felt.

He almost wished that he was angry. Ryder wouldn't have minded getting angry at Vlad for what he'd done, but that just wasn't something he could force. Not a lot of people knew how to infuriate him, and he liked things that way. Getting angry wasn't fun. Not fun at all.

Ryder finally let himself look up at Melody, allowing her to see the distraught expression on his face and the apparent bruising. "I thought...I thought Vlad liked me," he murmured sadly. "I didn't think he'd do something so-so mean."

Melody was about to snap back that Ryder was ridiculous to ever think Vlad liked anyone besides himself, but she caught herself only because she saw the look of pure anguish on Ryder's face. Collecting her long locks of hair into a ponytail then letting it fall back to her neck and shoulders, Melody thought about what Ryder had said and what she could say to make her friend feel better.

She discovered on her second thought how disappointed she too had felt toward Vlad betraying all of them like he did. Sure, the man was one of the most infuriating people she had known, but he had shown a lot of respect toward Melody. He didn't treat her like some stupid blonde bimbo like most men his age did. No, Vlad understood how smart she was, and he never let her got away with saying things that were idiotic. He never let her get away with anything, actually. And for some reason Melody thought those kinds of actions had been a sign that Vlad liked her to a certain extent.

Clutching a thick lock of her hair as if it was her last life line, Melody said quietly, "Yeah. I thought he liked me too."

A/N: Kind of a depressing ending, but that's how it goes. Vlad's a jerk. What more can people expect from him? And poor Ryder! Having to cause Ryder so much sadness this chapter was painful. Ha ha! Anyways, I'll try to answer reviews when I can this week, and I'll see you readers next weekend!


	12. Chapter 12 War and Peace

A/N: Sorry for being a bit late this week, but this was a long chapter to edit. Besides that, it's one of my favorites. Probably because most of it is a fight scene. And those of you who've read my other stuff know how much I love my fight scenes. Anyways, I'm also sorry for not responding to reviews. I've actually been more busy since getting home than I was at university. Go figure. I'll try to be more diligent about it, though. Besides that, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. The rest are ours.

Previously In The Collector: Things went awry when a plot to play a joke on Ryder by stealing and hiding his necklace went downhill. The blame game was won in the end by Vlad. Despite everyone being hurt, stunned, and angry at Vlad, the man didn't feel the satisfaction he wanted. So with himself now purposely alienated, Vlad admits to himself that he's rather confused and frustratingly different than the others, which in this context is proving to be a bad thing.

Chapter 12 War and Peace

Staring straight ahead from his lone spot on a picnic table in a corner, Vlad silently observed the entire room in a depressed sulk. Though the fact remained that Vlad thought of his current emotional condition of melancholy and constant unhappiness as childish and borderline infantile, the man couldn't seem to shake off the feeling. He was stuck with it whether he liked it or not.

It had been two days since the fiasco with Ryder's necklace, and none of the other human occupants in the museum had spoken barely a word to Vlad. Ryder avoided Vlad altogether, and Melody took every chance she got to glare coldly at the man, as if trying her hardest to turn him into a block of ice. Only Danny paid any attention to Vlad, but only when he had to.

Although it was obnoxious not having anyone to actually talk to, that wasn't nearly the cause to Vlad's dismal mood. Past memories and feelings had been dragged up from the old storage cabinet inside Vlad's head lately. These memories were full of bitterness, hurt, rejection, and confusion from a past Vlad never wanted to revisit. Vlad believed these insecurities had been dashed away and rightly gotten over due to the power of time and forgetfulness, but he saw now how mistaken he was. He wasn't over his unforgiving past, and it was frustrating and confusing him.

Vlad liked control over his life and being confident in who he was and what he did. It wasn't that way anymore, though. Not for the first time in his life, the man felt unsure of himself, and he hated every minute of it. He couldn't sleep anymore. He only ate because he knew he had to. As if his mind was on a never ending movie reel, Vlad's brain continuously thought about his past, his pathetic present condition, and the blurry vision of who he was today. It was about to drive him crazy.

Sighing again, Vlad tried to take his mind off his troubles by checking up on everyone in the room. Melody was by herself at another table. The Collector had given her a deck of cards, so she was treating herself to another game of solitaire as she hummed idly to herself.

Eyes shifting upward, Vlad observed Danny listlessly floating on his back in the air, as if trying relive his days as a superhero when he'd fly over Amity Park. The teen was still in human form, but Vlad understood how much Danny probably wanted to experience his ghost side again. It had been weeks since either of them had transformed, and the cold core inside each of them was starting to build up.

At last, Vlad turned his head toward the basket ball court where Ryder was. The man was playing a horrible game of one-on-none, and still Vlad didn't know who was winning. Whether it was dribbling, jumping, or dunking, Ryder obviously didn't know what he was doing...or cared, for that matter. Aloof as a dog, the man continued to play with himself with his ever-present grin.

While Vlad took his time to observe everyone, Danny kept his eyes shut and focused on not bumping into the walls of their prison. He had to admit, even though he was confined in this space and too nervous to change into his ghost form, it felt really good to be flying again. It felt like years since he'd last gotten to actually enjoy a long flight above his town. The memory of it only managed to put a depressed frown on his face.

Danny sighed a little, opening his eyes to peer down at the ground below him. It looked like everyone else was still doing their own things again. It'd been days since they'd all sat down and tried to discuss an escape plan.

_All because of me_, the teen thought, closing his eyes again to ward off his guilty feelings. He didn't see how he could forgive himself after what he'd done. He'd pretty much single-handedly ruined the slightly cohesive coexistence of their group without even meaning to. Not to mention, his actions had turned Vlad into the museum pariah...

_Ryder would totally make a joke about that if he heard_, Danny realized, shaking his head with a sardonic smile. He glanced down at the ground again and rolled his eyes when he spotted the man in question. Even though Ryder did his best to stay away from Vlad whenever he could, he still seemed to act like his ordinary insane self. The only time he didn't was when he actually looked at Vlad directly. That always seemed to get the thief to frown and look away sadly.

"Don't think about it," Danny muttered to himself, turning his head away to stare up at the ceiling. He didn't want to think about anyone else at the moment. Vlad was acting weird, Melody was acting weird, and Ryder was acting weirder than normal. The boy knew if he ever tried to figure out what his companions were thinking, he'd just drive himself crazy.

Meanwhile, tired of watching everyone at last, Vlad decided it was time to try and get some sleep. Try was the main word there. He hadn't had a descent hour of shuteye in days, but he still tried to nap when he could. The man knew he needed to keep himself healthy.

As Vlad strolled with his head down back to the men's cabin, he slipped his hands into his pockets. Though he had his head down, he knew Melody was glaring at him the entire time he moved past her. Arriving at the cabin, Vlad closed the door before leaning against it, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh. He knew things were broken between everyone out there, but he had no idea how to fix it.

Opening his eyes at last, Vlad moved away from the door. Before he got to his bed, though, he stopped in surprise. Laying there on the covers was a book. It was the first book Vlad had seen in weeks. It was considerably old by the looks of it. The leather cover was stained and covered with cracks. The crinkly, dilapidated pages seemed to be held to the spine by the last few strands of glue. The elegant title on the front proclaimed in French _War and Peace_.

Frowning, Vlad gingerly picked up the book and opened it to the first page. There was a sticky note there that had been recently written on. It read:

_Dear Vlad,_

_So I saw this and thought of you. No really I actually saw this and my 1st thought was Hey, Vlad would really like that! I should get that for him! So I did cuz I rememmber you saying that you like to read which is really nerdy but you said you liked it so I thought why not. And well I know that your like really mad at me and stuff but I figure that its ok cuz I sorta did steal from you but I felt bad about it but I guess it doesn't really matter that I felt bad about it cuz its steal stealing and that's wrong and stuff. And I've never read this book before but I know its xpensive so I hope that means that its good and also as a side note I had to steal this postit note from Melody and this pen and I didn't really realize how quickly the ink was going to run out so I probably should've stolen another one just in cas-_

Once he was done reading the note for the first time, Vlad's eyebrows furrowed together as he looked for a second note before giving up on the useless search and sighing with irritation. Typical Ryder.

Vlad frowned flatly at the far wall for a moment, but soon enough the man's expression softened as he glanced back down at the note and book with almost a look of guilt written on his hard face. It had been a long time since anyone had given him a thoughtful gift such as this one. He'd forgotten how it felt.

So once again, Vlad didn't know what to do.

In the meantime, Ryder was finding himself accompanied by someone on the basketball court. Lumbering up to the human was a ghost of monstrous size. He was dressed in nothing more than a simple faux leopard pelt that strung limply around one massive shoulder before dangling down to his knees in a kind of caveman skirt. The lack of dressing material allowed the ghost to show off all his multitude of well-defined muscles that covered every inch of his body. The ghost's head was shaven, but he wore a thick, black mustache and beard. Dark, cold eyes peered out from a low, sunken brow of hairy eyebrows. The glare he pinned Ryder with was formidable. It was obvious from the start: this ghost meant harm.

For several moments, Ryder didn't even notice the new arrival. He was too focused on attempting to bounce the basketball between his legs like he'd seen the players on television do loads of times. However, he was finding this feat very hard to accomplish. Frowning in frustration, Ryder picked the ball up again and held it in his hands.

"I don't remember this being hard," he mumbled with a put-out look on his face. The thief was just about to try the trick again when he finally felt the eyes of the ghost on him.

Ryder stood completely still as he looked up, up, and up into the ghost's face. After a confused pause, Ryder held the ball out to the ghost and smiled widely. "You wanna play too?" he asked, a hopeful gleam obvious in his eyes.

Ignoring Ryder's offer, the ghost took another giant step forward to close the gap between human and ghost. He pointed a finger down at Ryder, saying in a thick, deep voice that had a hint of a Russian accent to it, "You humans. You all need to know your place."

Ryder was silent for a moment before he asked, sounding mystified, "Is this a black thing?"

Eyebrows coming together in confusion, the ghost took his time in answering, as if thinking about Ryder's question was hard work. "No," he stated simply at last. "No. This is a human thing. Between humans and ghosts. You can't disrespect us in here and believe you can get away with it."

"Oh."

Ryder didn't really know what else he could say. It was only at that moment did he realize just how close the gigantic ghost was standing to him. He also took the time to notice the look on the ghost's face. He'd seen that look before, quite often actually. This guy wanted to hurt him. He had the look that clearly said he wanted to hurt him. How had he missed that? Maybe because it hadn't happened since he'd been brought to this museum.

"Oh, _well_, that's unfortunate," Ryder began, sounding as aloof as possible. "'Cause I was just gonna- think fast!"

Without hesitation, Ryder threw the basketball up at the ghost's face as a distraction while simultaneously leaping up into the air to plant a strong kick into his gut. Unfortunately, this ghost was made of muscle; Ryder was not. The thief's attack did nothing, and he ended up bouncing off like a ping-pong ball that had been thrown at a brick wall.

The force of the failure sent Ryder to the ground on his back, driving the air from his lungs in the process. He groaned as he looked up at the giant ghost and gasped out, "T-that was an a-accident."

The ghost shook its head, hardly daunted from the basketball hitting his face, even more so the attempted kick to his stomach. Looking down slowly, he spotted Ryder there on the ground, looking winded and vulnerable. Moving with a swiftness that wouldn't normally possess such a monstrously big man, the ghost stepped forward, seized a handful of Ryder's shirt, and lifted the man right off his feet.

Bringing Ryder close to his face, the ghost said in a low grumble, "You are nothing but a pathetic human. I don't want you to disrespect the other ghosts again." Lips curling into an unpleasant, mirthless smile, the ghost added, "And to make sure my point is clear, I will demonstrate what we do to humans like you who fail to understand our rules so that everyone will learn."

His message successfully sent, the ghost swung a beefy fist back before striking Ryder across the face and letting him drop to the ground.

Ryder hit the floor about as hard as the ghost had just hit him. Or maybe it wasn't as hard. Maybe he wasn't even still alive, actually. Maybe that punch had totally just smashed his face into a billion pieces, and he'd died right on the spot because that was definitely what it felt like.

Letting out a low moan of pain, the man blearily lifted his head up from where it had been against the ground. Dazed and confused, Ryder could only stare up at the ceiling as he tried to make his vision stop spinning.

_Holy frijoles_, he thought as he rolled over onto his stomach to try and push himself back to his feet. Ryder had never been punched that hard before. The entire right side of his face felt swollen up like a watermelon or something. The thief glanced down when he saw red dots appear on the white floor beneath him. Eyebrows furrowing, he lifted up a trembling hand and touched his bottom lip. It was busted right open. Not to mention, it hurt like hell.

Ryder closed his eyes and attempted to stand up again. He got up to his knees before his spinning head forced him to stop. Moving wasn't a good thing to be doing right now.

"Ok, ok, I learned my lesson," Ryder rasped, lowering his throbbing head as he gave up on walking and went for crawling instead to get away. "That was fun. We should try that again s-sometime."

Without a word, the ghost walked back up to Ryder, swung his foot back, and punted Ryder in the gut, sending the poor thief flying a few feet before landing on his side and rolling to a stop. The ghost didn't waste more time with letting Ryder recoup. He marched over to the defenseless man, ready to dish out more pain.

Gasping and coughing, Ryder rolled onto his side, trying desperately to get up. The ghost was coming towards him. He was going to continue to beat the crap out of him. He had to do something! The thief tried to stand, but shooting pangs jumped through his abdomen the second he tried, forcing him to yell a curse as he was brought back to the floor.

The sound of Ryder's shout of pain jolted Danny out of his thoughtful daze, and he spun around in the air, eyes shooting down to the basketball court. All he saw was a giant ghost bearing down on his friend who was sprawled out on the floor, clutching his stomach tightly as if all his guts were about to fall out.

"Holy crap!" Danny yelped. He didn't hesitate to fly swiftly to the ground and land between Ryder and the advancing ghost. He held his fists up defensively and glared up into the ghost's eyes. He didn't know what the thief had done to make this ghost mad, but he wasn't gonna let him hurt Ryder.

"Back off," Danny ordered in his toughest voice imaginable. He narrowed his eyes as they flashed with a green glow. "Leave Ryder alone."

The ghost stopped, perturbed and confused by Danny's sudden appearance. The group of ghosts at the museum still didn't know what to do with the halfas. They didn't like them because they were human; nonetheless, they were part ghost too, so it wasn't like they could hate their own kind. This new development perplexed the giant ghost, but he was on a mission, and some half ghost kid wasn't going to get in his way of accomplishing that which he set out to do.

"Move," the ghost said, using one massive hand to shove Danny out of his way so he could bend down to grab another handful of Ryder's shirt.

Danny stumbled from the push and nearly fell right to his butt. Somehow, he caught himself and spun to glare back at the ghost. It was then that he noticed how bad Ryder already looked, and the ghost obviously wasn't even near being through with this beating.

_I have to stop him_, Danny realized as his fists tightened further. He would never stand idly by and let someone - one of his friends - get the crud beat out of him. Even if he was scared of the Collector catching him and forcing him under his power, he wasn't going to let this happen. He couldn't.

Gritting his teeth in a fierce grin, Danny closed his eyes and morphed into his ghost form with a loud cry of, "Goin' ghost!" The familiar and comfortable chill spread through his body as if a tiny ice bomb had exploded inside his veins. Power just seemed to thrum from the tips of his fingers to his toes as his black hair was replaced by white and blue eyes with green. He had never felt so strong before in ghost form. He was so ready to release some of that power.

"No touching, Mongo!" Danny yelled as he threw his hands forward and shot twin ecto-blasts at the ghost just before he was able to grab Ryder again.

The ghost gave an annoyed grunt as the ectoplasm rays slammed into his side and made him take a step to the side. His dark eyes bore into Danny, frustration clearly shown in his expression. It was now obvious that Danny wasn't going to allow the ghost to do any damage to Ryder. So that meant the ghost would have to get rid of Danny first before he could continue his work on the thief.

_"Ryder!"_

The ghost looked to his side when he heard Melody's scream. The girl came running up to the basketball court, a pale look of fear on her face. It was like Danny and the other ghost weren't there as she raced past them to get to Ryder, but she didn't make it very far. The giant ghost had caught one of her arms with one of his own.

"Hey!" Melody yelled as she was jerked to a stop before she could attend to her friend on the ground. She tried to pull away from the ghost, but his large hand practically engulfed her entire forearm. "Get off me, you fat jerk!" Melody growled viciously, using her anger to hide her growing fear and anxiety. She'd been too focused on Ryder to believe she'd get hurt too, but now she saw how stupid running onto the scene had just been.

Gasping for air that he desperately needed to fill his battered lungs, Ryder looked up at the scene before him. "Mel," he croaked out, painfully attempting to stand up with an arm wrapped around his abdomen. That ghost was touching her. Ryder couldn't let the ghost hurt her to get to him. He couldn't let that happen to his best friend. "G-get off her, King Kong," the thief growled, his voice nothing but a pathetic whimper.

Before Ryder could get up, Danny flew forward, turned intangible, and wrapped his arms around Melody's waist to phase her through the ghost's grip. He easily lifted her up and flew her several feet away so that she'd be safe. "Stay back," he breathlessly told her as he placed her back on the ground. "I can handle this!"

"Y-yeah, but Ryder...," Melody squeaked out, a little too shocked from the sudden flight and ghostly touch for her voice to be in control. As frightened as she currently was, Melody stayed where she had been deposited. She knew now that she'd been stupid to just run into the fight like that. And now that she thought about it, she realized Danny was the best for the current job. He'd fight other ghosts before and won, him being a superhero and all. So Melody anxiously waited off to the side, trying her best to remain calm.

Danny didn't wait for Melody's scathing reply as he leapt back into the air, flying straight for the giant ghost. He cocked his glowing fist back and, without slowing down, plowed his ecto-charged punch right into the ghost's face.

With a roar of anger and pain, the ghost stumbled back a few feet, holding his now hurting face with one hand. A few measly ectoplasm rays weren't something the ghost would have troubled himself over, but now his face was actually hurting. This would not do. It looked like he'd have to show Danny a lesson too.

Standing up straight after the blow, the ghost growled at the half ghost hovering in the air a few yards away, "You will pay for that." Then, with a flash of red gleaming in the ghost's eyes, the ghost duplicated himself once, twice, and more until there were at least twelve massive ghosts standing on the basketball court all facing Danny with scowls on their faces.

Without another word, the group of ghosts charged Danny with loud battle yells.

_Oh man...I did not see that coming_, Danny thought, shock and horror on his face as the group of giant ghosts tore towards him. His green eyes shot to the side to check on Ryder. He found that the thief had actually managed to get back upright, and he was trying to hobble away. The bad thing was, they really had nowhere to go.

Danny set his face in a grim expression as he focused back on the ghosts. He just needed to get to Ryder and protect him until the Collector realized what was going on and stopped this. He just had to hold out for a rescue. The half-ghost's hands flared up with energy he'd been holding inside for weeks. It was time to let it go.

He fired a strong blast at the closet ghost as he flew forward. He ducked low to avoid a punch from another and had to flip onto his side to dodge yet another angry fist aimed for his head, firing ecto-blasts all the while. Danny phased through the chest of one ghost and came out on the other side to slam a kick into another duplicate's face.

All he could do was shoot and evade as he desperately tried to get back to Ryder's side.

The the weaving, evading, and dodging worked for the first few seconds of battle, but the colossal ghost and his duplicates soon managed to surround Danny. The smaller ghost was at first too quick to get pummeled, but Danny's pesky fly act didn't serve him very well when his luck finally wore off and a mammoth fist whacked into him from the side, driving him downward.

Danny cried out when his side slammed into the ground from the force of the punch. He looked up, eyes wide when he realized he was totally surrounded. Grimacing from the pain of the attack, Danny flipped onto his back and created a dome-like shield around himself. He panted for a moment before flinging his arms outward. The expanding shield rammed into the ghosts and flung them backwards, giving him just enough time to get back to his feet.

The dozen ghosts who were momentarily pushed back by the shield quickly rightened themselves. As they did so, some of them noticed Ryder trying to limp away. Seeing that their main target was escaping, the group broke into two. Most of the ghosts stayed with Danny while two other ghosts rushed off to go take care of Ryder.

Trying a different tactic this time, the multitude of ghosts surrounding Danny tried to grab him as they all lunged forward. A captured target was easier to hit than one who was flying around all erratically, they all figured.

Meanwhile, the two ghosts who had gone after Ryder quickly caught up with the thief. Chuckling darkly to themselves at the weakened state of the human, one of them grabbed Ryder by the arm and twisted it painfully behind his back.

As all this was taking place, Melody had decided that 1 against 12 in a ghost fight wasn't fair. Danny didn't look like he had expected the turn of events to go so drastically poor, so the girl did the smartest thing she could do to help and rushed off to find the one man who actually could.

Flinging herself into the men's cabin, Melody stopped short before she collided into Vlad. Turning sharply around to face Melody, Vlad hid the book he was reading behind his back. He was about to tell her to leave, the cabin being a men's cabin and all, but he swiftly caught the look of distress and fear on her face. Something was terribly wrong.

Back on the battlefield that was the basketball court, Danny's good luck came to an abrupt halt when he felt a large hand grab a chunk of his hair and yank him back when he tried to pull away. Crying out in pain, the teen gritted his teeth and reached up to pry the hand away from his hair. He realized that there was no way he could beat this ghost in strength, but he had other ways to do that.

The teen narrowed his eyes as they flashed blue and coated the hand grabbing him completely in ice. He yanked himself away from the frozen hand and prepared to fly up out of the other ghosts' reach again.

Ryder, on the other hand, was having bigger problems. He couldn't contain a yelping shout of agony when the ghost grabbed him and bent his arm behind him like he was going to snap it in half. He probably was going to snap it in half!

"Ow, ow! Arms don't go that way!" he yelled, struggling uselessly to free himself. "Stop, stop! Please, I learned my lesson! I did! Ah-ow! I promise!"

The thief looked desperately up at the ghost in front of him, tears of pain stinging in the only eye he could see out of. Ryder could just tell that this was the end. He could see it in the ghost's face. He was so going to kill him or just break all the bones in his body. Starting with his arm.

Ryder closed his eye and turned his head away. He didn't want to see this.

Just as the ghost was about to pop Ryder's arm out of its socket and shatter the captured arm's bones, Ryder turned intangible. The ghost let out a surprised yelp of lament and confusion as he lost all grip on the man and Ryder fell back to his knees unharmed. Both of the ghosts standing by Ryder shared looks of bafflement before shrugging and proceeding to grab Ryder again.

Before they could, another ghost materialized between them. With hands on his hips and an evil smirk playing at the corners of his lips, Vlad looked up at the two dumbfounded ghosts with a confidence he hadn't shown in days.

"I would appreciate it if you two would kindly desist beating these people into a pulp, gentlemen," Vlad said with pretense politeness. "I think Mr. Walker, here, gets your point. Giving any more of it would just be redundant and sloppy workmanship, and we don't want any of that, now do we?"

Ryder slowly reopened his eye and looked up at Vlad. Of all people, Vlad was standing in between him and the ghost that was going to kill him. He didn't know what to do or say. He was just so relieved that he wasn't dead and that his arm was still okay, though it was aching like hell.

The man let a pained smile come to his face as he wrapped his arm back around his midsection to fight down the throbbing in his ribs. "Vlad," he whispered shakily, relief evident in the weak tone of his voice. Ryder honestly felt like crying from how happy he felt at not being alone in this anymore.

The thief let his eyes drift to the ghost as he peered around Vlad's side and nodded quickly. "Y-yeah, sloppy's the worst," he readily agreed. Ryder paused as he suddenly realized something. "Vlad...Vlad, I think I'm gonna puke...or pass out. Or both. I don't know yet."

Glancing down at Ryder with forehead creased in unsavory contemplation, Vlad said, "Mmm. Delightfully expressive on your bodily updates as always, I see. Just stay down, Ryder. You've caused enough trouble for one day, and I'd prefer it if you refrained from vomiting on my feet. Much obliged."

"You can't tell me what to do," the giant ghost suddenly said, cutting off further conversation between Vlad and Ryder.

"Took you that much time to come up with that sentence, did it?" Vlad said to the ghost. When the ghost didn't respond at first, Vlad shook his head, a look of fake sympathy crossing his face as he said, "I know. Thinking is hard."

"I know a mocker when I see one," the other massive ghost growled out, tone one of annoyance.

"Oh, that's good," Vlad said, grinning despite himself. "It's very good to know your eyesight works properly, gentlemen."

Whether the two ghosts knew what Vlad meant or not, it didn't matter. They weren't going to take any more jokes or scoffing from one over-confident man. Simultaneously, they attacked Vlad by lunging at him. Predicting this move long before it had even been conceived, Vlad slightly bent his knees and formed a shield above himself and Ryder. The two giants slammed into the shield before reeling in confused frustration.

Vlad didn't give the giant ghosts a chance to recoup. He shot off the ground, swung his glowing fist back, and punched one of the unfortunate ghosts in the face with a ruthless battle yell. The gigantic ghost fell to its side, stunned and wounded. Turning sharply around, Vlad conjured up a quick, powerful ball of ectoplasm and brutally shoved it at the second ghost. The energy ball took the ghost right off his feet. He soared through the air a few yards before dematerializing.

Glancing over to the skirmish going on between the other 10 ghosts and Danny, Vlad decided the teen could use some help. Concentrating hard, the man split himself in two to lighten the load of work that needed to be done. His other half swiftly flew over to assist the superhero who was currently getting his butt kicked.

Throwing a barrage of ectoplasm rays at the present ghost pummeling Danny into the ground, Vlad arrived on the scene just as the ghost stumbled to the side and let the teen go. Forming a shield around both of them to let Danny recoup, Vlad smirked down at the boy as he stated, "1 against 12 isn't the best of odds, Daniel, though I shouldn't blame you. You never were great at math."

Danny slowly shook his head as he looked back up at Vlad and wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. "If I wasn't so happy to see you, I'd say something back to that," the teen replied, flashing a tired grin. He floated back to his feet and grimaced when the bruises along his body ached. Vlad was right. Fighting 12 ghosts at once hadn't been one of his best ideas. He was definitely gonna feel that in the morning.

The boy peered out of Vlad's shield at the increasingly agitated looking ghosts glaring in at them before peeking back up at Vlad. "How about I take that one on the left, and you deal with the rest?" Danny suggested, quirking his eyebrow cheekily. Before Vlad could answer, Danny quickly added, "And is Ryder ok? I was trying to get to him, but I got a little...um, sidetracked."

"The last time I saw him, he told me he was happy and was going to barf," Vlad replied blandly. "He's fine."

Looking around at the congregation of massive ghosts waiting for them outside the shield, Vlad managed a grim smile as he duplicated himself again. Making sure Danny was alright and ready to go, the man let his shield dissipate before having both his forms attack the nearest ghosts with blasts of rosy, ectoplasm energy.

One Vlad went high, and the other went low, blasting and punching at whatever limbs they could get at. Bewildered by this strategy and the swiftness at which is was executed, the giant ghosts were slow at first at even toughing Vlad, his clone, and Danny. Though the two adversaries rarely worked together, Vlad had to admit it was slightly comfortable fighting by the teen's side. He was the only person Vlad could trust in a battle to get the job done.

Eventually, though, one Vlad got his ankle caught in a tight, enveloping fist. The ghost violently swung the clone over its head before smashing him to the ground. Another ghost was right there to finish the clone off with a brutish stomp to the clone's chest. Instantly, the second Vlad dematerialized.

Danny could only grimace as he caught the brutal end of one of Vlad's clones. He pulled his eyes back to the fight just in time to swiftly fly to the ground to duck a punch aimed for his head. His feet thunked to the floor, but he didn't pause. Instead, he threw himself forward, slid between a giant ghost's legs, and shot a powerful ecto-blast into his back.

The attack was strong enough to make the clone disappear, and Danny grinned as he leapt back into the air to go for another. The next opponent found him by body slamming him from the side, taking the teen completely by surprise. Danny spun out of control for a moment before he righted himself, planted his feet against the wall, and jumped back at the ghost that had its fist pulled back to clobber him with.

Danny got there first and slammed both of his open palms into the ghost's chest. Ice leapt from his hands and covered the duplicate, freezing him whole within moments. The half-ghost smirked a little as that clone disappeared as well, just like the last one.

"That's two for me, Vlad!" Danny yelled, flying back into the air with a grin. "Beat that!"

Vlad went with a punch that was delivered to his side. He fell onto his shoulder, rolled with the momentum, and came back upright with both hands blazing. Thrusting his palms out at the ghost who'd just hit him, Vlad took that brute out before pushing off the ground and nailing a hard punch to the head of the unsuspecting ghost that had been standing behind his recently fallen buddy. With another well aimed blast, Vlad finished a third ghost off with ease.

"My count so far is four," Vlad called back to Danny with a competitive grin. "Though that's probably not fair since there were three of-!" Vlad noticed the monstrous shadow that had surrounded him suddenly. Deftly, he threw himself into a backwards somersault to avoid the descending fists that had been aimed to smash him like a bug.

Coming up behind the ghost, Vlad threw a few rays at the giant before he was stopped by a hand grabbing his leg. Vlad was heaved up like a rag doll before being unceremoniously flung into the wall. Before he could get his head on straight, the motion was repeated, but this time a neat, little crater had been created in the hard surface.

Giving a small groan, Vlad gritted his teeth through the pain and released a surge of electric energy onto the ghost who was preparing Vlad for another swing against the wall. White electric energy cracked down the ghost's arm and speedily raced with brilliantly, deadly sparks all across its body. The ghost seized up before releasing a roar of pain and dematerializing.

Dropping to the ground, Vlad rolled his now sore shoulders with a grimace before muttering to himself, "And that's five."

Danny paused in mid-air when he heard Vlad's reply as he did mental calculations. "Wait, how many are left then?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to think it out. Math was hard when he was focusing on other things. That was his excuse, anyway.

However, a swift punch to the side of his head that sent him crashing face-first to the ground answered his question. Shaking stars from his vision, Danny muttered to himself, "Ok, ug, at least one."

Just as he was about to roll out of the way, a large foot crashed down on his back and shoved him further into the floor. Danny growled breathlessly, gritting his teeth as the foot tried its best to crush him into dust. _Forget this_, the teen thought as he turned himself intangible and phased through the ghost's foot completely.

He continued to phase through the ghost's leg and ended up behind him. He grabbed the ghost's head in both hands. Two ecto-blasts later, there was one less ghost jerk to deal with. Panting slightly, Danny put his hands on his knees and grumbled, "I really gotta get a math tutor."

Vlad suddenly skidded backwards on his feet past Danny after a hit from one of the last two gargantuan ghosts. Soon as the man came to a halt, he stepped forward with a thrust of both his hands, releasing a powerful ecto-ray at the culprit who'd recently batted him as a sort of retribution. With a strained yelp, that ghost was the last to vanish on the basketball court.

The one remaining ghost now realized he was badly defeated. He baulked the two halfas, his slow mind trying to discern what he should do next at a snail's pace. He'd never lost a fight before, and he didn't understand that his first defeat came from the hands of two puny half humans. It didn't make any sense.

Vlad made up the ghost's mind for him. With a smirk, Vlad fired a small shot at the ghost's chest. It was just enough power to frighten the apparition. Uttering an uncharacteristically girly yelp, the ghost jumped back, turned, and hightailed it out of there.

The smirk was still on Vlad's lips as he dusted himself off and asked Danny, "Are you alright? Oh, why am I asking? You're fine. If anything, this fight was probably cathartic for you."

Danny grimaced as he straightened out his back, but he smiled back at Vlad anyway. "If cathartic means fun, then yeah, that was kinda fun," he answered, chuckling despite himself. He was sore, but it was a nice sore. He hadn't gotten to fight another ghost in so long, and he had to admit that it was very refreshing to be able to get out all his frustrations just like that.

The teen ran a hand through his white hair as he looked over at the other end of the basketball court where Ryder and Melody were. Just before he floated towards them, he glanced over his shoulder and shot Vlad his own smirk. "Thanks for asking, V-Man."

That said, Danny flew across the court and landed beside Melody who was kneeling beside Ryder. The man was either unconscious or rapidly on his way in that direction. Danny couldn't help but wince at the sorry state of Ryder's face. He was almost unrecognizable at this point.

Danny leaned over Ryder and hesitantly asked, "Hey, can you hear me?"

The thief's left eye cracked open as he let out a grunting moan and squirmed a little on the ground. "Nngh, my ribs," he gasped out between his short and sharp breaths. Ryder's dazed eye finally landed on the people above him, and his eyebrows furrowed. "I don't remember you guys being in prison with me," he mumbled, his words sounding like nothing but garbled nonsense. "I thought I got out...Did I dream that? That's...that's probably-_ugggg_ my face. Who-who threw that car at my face?"

"Make sure he stays awake," Vlad said as he landed beside Danny and Melody. "He could have a bad concussion. He'll have to go to the Infirmary, unfortunately. Where are those guards when you actually need them?"

"They're on their way," Melody said, voice shaky but more in control than it was before. "While you guys were fighting, I got ahold of one. He's getting a group together right now."

Snorting in aversion, Vlad leaned down over Ryder's head. He snapped his fingers a few times to try and get the man's attention before saying with calm sternness, "Ryder? Ryder, you need to stay awake. Understand? You're not allowed to fall asleep. It's too dangerous. Just...keep talking. You enjoy that."

Ryder painfully shook his head and squeezed his eye shut. "_Nooo_, no, I don't wanna talk," he whined. He tried to cover his face with his arms to block out everyone, but yelped when he tried to move his right arm. He quickly let it drop back to the ground. "Oooh, ow, ow, ow. That hurts too. What happened? Who the hell threw that car? Mmmm. My face, my face hurts."

Danny grimaced again, looking over to Melody and Vlad worriedly. That ghost had managed to hurt him and Vlad when they were in ghost form. It came as no surprise to him that Ryder wasn't doing so good considering he was just a human. He swallowed a little and said softly, "It's ok, dude. The guards'll be here soon. Don't worry."

Ryder kept shaking his head, gasping for each breath he took. "I d-didn't do anything. Tell the W-Warden that, please. It wasn't me. I was ju-just doing...something. I don't know what, but I was-was doing it," the man babbled, panting, cringing, and sobbing a little as he spoke.

Danny stood back up straight and shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. He swallowed hard to keep himself calm as he looked towards the door that the guards needed to come through. It was hard to see Ryder so hurt and confused. "Those stupid guards better get here soon," he muttered under his breath.

"No!" Vlad suddenly yelled, shaking Ryder's shoulder forcefully as the man closed his one good eye as if about to fall asleep. "No, no, no. Stay awake." There was a collective sigh of relief when Ryder opened his eye again. Smiling down wryly at the man, Vlad said, "I'm not letting you drift away that easily, Mr. Walker."

After five long, worrisome minutes, the guards did come. They trudged into the room unenthusiastically. Not trusting the ghosts to do the job properly, Danny and Vlad carefully lifted Ryder up onto the stretcher themselves. Melody stood off to the side, braiding and unbraiding her hair in anxiety.

Just before the group carried the wounded man off, Vlad leaned over Ryder once again with a set of orders. "Remember," he told Ryder, "your mission for the day is to stay awake. You're useless to everyone if you sleep. Got that?"

Though he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to do the exact opposite of what Vlad was saying, Ryder nodded back quickly. "Ok, ok," he agreed, pain aching in his voice. "Don't sleep. I won't. I won't. I promise."

The group stepped back to let the guards leave the room, sharing anxious glances the entire time. It didn't help that the second the doors closed behind the guards they could hear someone shouting. And he did not sound pleased. "Three guesses who that is," Danny mumbled out of the side of his mouth to Vlad and Melody.

No sooner had he spoken did the doors open again and a very angry looking Curator stormed inside. His eyes were glowing much brighter than normal, and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides as his gaze landed on the three remaining humans in the room.

"_Don't move_," the Curator rumbled before anyone could even think of doing such a thing. The ghost turned his eyes quickly away from them and raised his voice to yell, "_I want every ghost in front of me NOW_!"

It didn't take long for his order to be met with the appearance of all the ghosts present as displays in the museum. They lined up in front of the Collector just as he had asked, each holding a different expression on their face. Most looked nervous yet a few held twinges of annoyance.

Furious glare sliding across each face in front of him, the Curator ordered, "_Sit down_." Once everyone had been forced to sit on the floor, the Collector pointed steadily at Vlad and demanded, "_What happened here_? I know you had something to do with this."

Scowling up at the Curator, Vlad answered in a forcibly even tone, "I don't know exactly what happened because I wasn't around when it happened. All I know is that Mr. Walker was innocently playing basketball by himself, a ghost came up to him and instigated a fight, and because your guards weren't there to stop it, Danny and I interceded for Ryder." He paused before saying with a sneer, "If anything, you should be thanking us. If it wasn't for Danny and I, your precious set of thieves would be one short right now."

Grinding his teeth noticeably, the Curator matched Vlad's glare without even seeming to try. The look wasn't even directed at him, but Danny winced anyway. He thought about lightly suggesting to Vlad to cool it, but figured it wouldn't be worth it anyway. The guy was in Vlad-mode.

"My guards," the Collector began, speaking through his clenched teeth, "will receive their own punishment for allowing this to happen. You may count on that. As for the rest of you..."

The Curator turned to loom over the ghosts on the ground, somehow managing to cast a much bigger shadow across the ground than should've been possible. "_There will be no more fighting._ The next ghost who even _thinks_ of fighting will be removed immediately from my museum. _Do not so much as touch another human again_. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Curator," the ghosts instantly replied, their voices filled with fear at the thought of having to leave the museum. Unlike the humans, none of the ghosts actually wanted to have to leave. This place was their home.

Looking somewhat satisfied, the Curator turned back to the humans, his distaste made clear in the disapproving scowl on his face. "I am...thankful that you and Mr. Fenton protected Mr. Walker," the ghost began grudgingly though it was obvious he meant every word. "However, the next one of you to participate in a brawl will not enjoy the consequences I have in mind."

The Collector blew out a sigh and massaged his temple as he waved a hand at the ghosts to his left, releasing them from his power so that they could leave. They did so without looking back. The ghost took a moment to collect his thoughts and calm his anger before he opened his eyes and looked at the humans in front of him.

"This business of attempting to escape is becoming increasingly bothersome. I will not tolerate another...escape plan or whatever you call them," he said tersely but with a stern note in his voice.

Although Vlad wanted to say something feisty just to spite the Collector and make him angry, he knew when to keep his mouth shut. Defying the Curator when he was alone was one thing. Vlad could look after himself. But in front of everyone else was something different. He didn't want to push things too far.

Vlad didn't have to look at either Danny or Melody to know they were glancing nervously at him, as if fearful he'd say something wrong and get them all punished. To keep everyone momentarily safe, he simply sat back with a rebellious glare and said nothing as he nicely demonstrated his self control.

Satisfied by the lack of rude responses, the Collector straightened up and let out a tense sigh. That had gone better than expected. Maybe they were finally learning. He certainly hoped so.

Danny unwillingly cleared his throat to get the ghost's attention and hesitantly asked, "Is Ryder gonna be ok?"

The Curator's eyebrows furrowed deeply in concern, and he glanced over his shoulder as if he could see the Infirmary from this room. "Yes...yes, he should be fine," he agreed without sounding very confident. "I will watch over him tonight and return him here in the morning. Until then..." The ghost turned back to face the humans and spread his hands as he said, "Please, try to stay out of trouble. I don't want any of you hurt, do you understand? I don't want any of you to have to stay in the Infirmary. If you have anymore problems with the other ghosts, please, do not hesitate to tell me. I will solve the problem immediately."

The ghost nodded a little, mostly to himself, as he glanced down at the floor. He took in another deep breath and lifted his head up. "I will be making daily visits from now on to check up on you all," he announced. "If there are anymore problems, I will know of them."

This time Melody piped up, her voice resounding with indignation. "But we didn't do anything wrong!" she said. Indicating the ghosts that had been dismissed with a sweep of her hand, she continued, "And you already ordered the other ghosts to leave us alone. They have to obey you. There won't _be_ any more problems, so there's really no point to you showing up each day."

Pausing, Melody caught Vlad's incredulous glance before adding sweetly to the Curator, "That's just my logical opinion, sir. We don't want to waste your time. I mean, we've been behaving good these past few days. Not a single escape attempt. Why should we get punished for something we didn't do?"

The Curator looked down at Melody, struggling to keep up a stern face. It was very hard for him to contain a smile when one of his displays was actually showing him the respect that he deserved. "Well..." he began, glancing at Danny out of the corner of his eye. The teen caught the ghost's look and quickly put on the most innocent kid face that he could manage.

Letting out a sigh, the Curator shook his head and laughed a little. "Alright," he relented, tense shoulders sagging as he gave the three humans a caring look. "I suppose you're right. You did protect Mr. Walker, and you have behaved well recently." His gaze drifted to Vlad, his hard expression returning momentarily. "For the most part, that is."

The ghost ran a hand across the top of his head as he murmured, "_You may stand, if you wish_. I will return to the Infirmary to keep an eye on your...friend. Good night."

That said, the Curator nodded to the three humans and turned on his heel to exit the room. Only when Danny was sure the ghost was really gone did he jump back to his feet and grin down at Melody. "You're awesome, Miss Ice Queen," he said, holding out a hand to help her to her feet.

Taking Danny's hand as if she really was a queen and he was her loyal subject, Melody gracefully got back to her feet, saying theatrically with a graceful bow, "I know. I am the best in the kingdom."

Catching a raised eyebrow from Vlad who was getting to his feet next to her, the girl quickly muttered, "Shit. I sounded like Ryder. He hasn't even been gone for two minutes."

Chuckling with a shake of his head, Vlad said as he dusted off his hands, "I'm surprised that actually worked."

"It wouldn't have worked for you because you don't have a pretty face," Melody pointed out with a snarky grin. "As I've said before: the Collector isn't some evil bad guy with a diabolical plan. He cares for his collection. And until he stops caring, I'm totally using that to my advantage."

"She has a point," Danny agreed as he transformed back into his human half and rubbed a kink out of his sore neck. He smiled cheerfully up at Vlad and finished, "She does have a prettier face." Before Vlad could comment on that, Danny gave the man a playful punch to the arm and added, his smile growing wider, "Thanks for the save, by the way. Took you long enough!"

Looking down at Danny and his goofy, childish smile as he teased him in his usual irritating way, Vlad decided right then and there that it wasn't practical to stay refined and distant from the teen or any of the other humans. The man had been so caught up trying to keep his image and smothered in his stubbornness and pride, but now he saw it was rather useless and, quite honestly, difficult to keep going the way he was heading. It was safe to say he needed this group in not just escaping, but staying sane as well. So, with a little hesitation, Vlad put on a smile.

Turning back into his human form, the man said teasingly, "I wasn't going to help at first. Honestly, I was enjoying the show too much. But then again, I couldn't let you have all the fun."

Encouraged by Vlad's response, Danny laughed and shook his head. "That sounds about right," he agreed. "I've heard watching me get my butt kicked is really entertaining. Too bad you didn't have a video camera. You could've sold the film to the Ghost Zone's Funniest Home Videos or something."

Even though Danny was really worried about Ryder's condition, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that Vlad was acting differently. Differently in a good way. The guy had helped him and Ryder out when they really needed it, and that meant a lot to Danny, more than Vlad probably knew. He honestly felt that things would start getting better after this. He felt like their group would be whole again once Ryder came back, and that was when they'd start making their escape plans. Ironically enough, a fight had started their group's internal conflict and another fight had fixed it.

Suddenly losing her smile, Melody glanced at the door where Ryder had been carried away. Her friend was one of the only people she had and fully trusted here in the museum. To lose him would to lose everything for Melody. Though she tried to keep this emotion hidden, it was pretty obvious she was beyond worried for Ryder as she wrapped her arms around her midriff as if to keep herself together.

"I really hope he'll be okay," she said quietly.

"He'll be fine," Vlad reassured her with a flippant wave of his hand. Although he wasn't personally as sure about this statement, Vlad saw the girl needed some kind of positive response. Why else would she have stated her fears?

"I'm actually more worried about the Curator," Vlad said with a wicked grin. "He said he would keep watch over Ryder until tomorrow morning. And if I know the ghost well enough, I would say he is in for a very long, obnoxious night."

A/N: Yay for action and the dysfunctional team semi getting back together! Boo for poor Ryder getting his butt royally kicked. That guy has the worst luck...though I have to admit he brings it upon himself half the time. Ha ha! Well, I'll see your readers next week! Have a good one!


	13. Chapter 13 Drugs and Underwear

A/N: Sorry. Forgot to post last weekend. To make up for that, I think I'll post two chapters this weekend. So on Monday I'll update with chapter 14. Anyways, not much else to say besides that this chapter is amazingly funny. I kept cracking up while editing it, so I hope you readers enjoy!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. All other characters belong to us.

Previously In The Collector: With human and ghost rivalry brewing, Ryder was the first to receive the message that he wasn't welcome in the museum by getting beat up by a giant multiplying ghost. When Danny's not enough to fight the ghost, Vlad steps up to help save the day. To keep his most prized displays safe, the Collector orders every ghost in the museum not to touch any of the humans. We left our once again connected team with one short as Ryder is carted off to the Infirmary.

Chapter 13 Drugs and Underwear

Danny took a bite of his breakfast, glanced up at the door, frowned, and took another bite of food. The process had been repeating itself pretty much since he'd gotten up this morning, and he knew that he wasn't alone. Though Melody was good at hiding her anxieties, for the most part, he could tell that she was anxiously awaiting Ryder's return.

However, there'd been no signs of the thief yet, and breakfast couldn't possibly last much longer.

_I'm sure he's fine_, Danny tried to reassure himself as he shoveled more food into his mouth. _The Collector's probably just making him stay extra long to make sure he's alright. Yeah. That's it._

The teen managed to keep himself quiet for about 2.5 seconds longer before he cracked and huffed loudly as he demanded of anyone, "How much longer until Ryder comes back?"

"If we knew, Daniel, we'd tell you," Vlad answered, a little of his exasperation ebbing into his voice on accident.

Worrying about Ryder that morning had become rather redundant. To the point that the repetitiveness of Melody's anxious sighs and Danny's constant frown of concern were starting to agitate Vlad. If you could do nothing about it, then why worry was the man's philosophy. He didn't see why the others weren't picking it up. Still, it wasn't like he could voice these opinions without sounding heartless.

Making his voice more even, he said, "Look, there is nothing we can do right now for Ryder. And it is not like we can ask anyone about his current health. Therefore, eat your food and try to think of something else. Like an escape plan, for example."

Danny knew that Vlad had a point, but that didn't mean that he was gonna agree with him out loud. Instead, he gave a swift shrug and said the first escape plan that came to mind. "Maybe I can hide in the dirty laundry cart when that maid ghost comes around at night and get carted to freedom," he jokingly suggested, flashing a smirk. "Like that one Annie kid or whatever."

Before anyone could comment, Danny looked up at Vlad and asked, eyebrows furrowing, "I know there's nothing we can do right now, but, I mean, aren't you worried?"

_Great. Now he's turning this into some kind of ethical discussion. What I'm sure he really wants, though, is some heartfelt confession of concern for the man...which I'm in the process of failing to get_, Vlad thought sourly as he picked at his food. Quickly coming to a decision, he looked up at Danny and half lied, "Of course I'm worried. Ryder's annoying, but we still need him. There's just better things to be thinking about right now. That's all. Like your escape plan. It's deplorable."

"Perfect, you mean?" Melody piped up. When everyone was looking at her, she explained, "His plan might work, actually. I've been here longer than you guys. I know how the laundry cleaners work. They don't bother to look inside the trolly baskets. While this might not be a good escape attempt, it might give us a better concept of the layout of the museum." Then, after an uncertain pause, she added, "And we don't need Ryder to pull it off. So if he comes back by tonight or not, we can still implement the plan."

Danny stared across the table at Melody, his expression clearly saying just how insane he thought she was. "What? I was joking!" he blurted and shook his head. "Gross, no way I'm doing that. That's just...gross. Have you smelled Ryder's clothes? No. No way. Not happening."

The teen crossed his arms resolutely over his chest and kept shaking his head, though, deep inside, he knew he was totally doomed. Vlad and Melody had done equally embarrassing and gross things before. There was no way he could squirm his way out of it...but he was definitely going to try.

Musing the plan over for a few more seconds, Vlad finally said, "It works. Danny's the smallest. He would be best for the job."

"What do you mean by he's the_ smallest_?" Melody suddenly asked, her voice having a chilling, cutting edge to it.

Vlad paused, looking slightly miffed. He had no clue what angle she was playing. "That out of the four of us, he is the one most likely to fit in the laundry basket," he answered with a small, forced smile to placate the girl.

"Are you saying I couldn't fit in the laundry basket?" Melody asked sharply.

"Maybe," Vlad said truthfully. "You couldn't fit through the ventilation shaft."

Melody reared back, uttering a sharp cry of shock and anger. At this point, Vlad knew something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was. Trying desperately to gain some help, he glanced sideways at Danny, as if the boy would illuminate the dark confusion.

Danny refused to meet Vlad's eyes as he looked anywhere but at the man's face or Melody's and cleared his throat uncomfortably. He stared around the room as if it was the most interesting thing in the world and kept his mouth firmly shut. The teen didn't know much about girls, but he understood one thing thanks to Sam. Anything to do with size or weight was something you never, ever, ever mentioned. And Vlad had just mistakenly mentioned it.

Just as Danny was about to change the subject, he saw movement over by the food window. His eyes shot to the doors, a brilliant grin leaping to his face when he saw them open and Ryder stepped out into the room. "Ryder!" Danny shouted, resisting the urge to jump up and go hug the man. He had such awesome timing.

Ryder looked up towards their table, smiled tiredly, and started towards them, an obvious limp in his walk. Even from far away Danny could see that his face hadn't really improved, and his right arm was cushioned in a sling across his shoulders. But at least he was able to walk. That was a definite relief.

Cutting all ties to her focus on hers and Vlad's current argument, Melody turned around in her seat to look at Ryder. Swift as a bird, she was on her feet and jogged happily to her friend, not bothering to keep the giant grin off her face. Once Melody got to Ryder, she disregarded his arm in its sling as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug with her head resting on his shoulder.

"We missed you, Ryder," she told him with a cheerful giggle. "Even Vlad. Though he won't admit it, I'm sure. So go easy on him. His pride's a little dented."

Ryder grunted softly when Melody hugged him, but he ignored the pain it caused him and wrapped his free arm around her in the most awkward but definitely the best hug ever. Ryder was never one to pass up a free hug.

"Really?" he asked, surprise smothering the strain in his voice. "But he didn't even get punted like a football or anything...or maybe he did. I don't know. I can't remember anything, really. All I know is getting punted isn't as fun as it sounds."

The man broke off and shook his head tiredly as he mumbled, "I need a nap."

Giggling again, Melody swung Ryder's good arm across her shoulder as she helped him walk back to the table. "You know what I meant," she said with an amused sigh. On second thought, as she realized who she was actually talking to, the girl muttered uncertainly, "Maybe."

Brightening up again, Melody said, "Well, you can take a nap once we get into our case. Right now you need breakfast. Also, we have another escape plan in mind."

"It's more of a reconnaissance mission, actually," Vlad told them. Offering Ryder a thin, reluctant smile that felt cumbersome on Vlad's face, the man said, "It's good to know you're alright and with us again, Mr. Walker. The Curator didn't give you too much trouble, did he?"

Grimacing noticeably, Ryder managed to sit down with help from Melody. "He didn't really say anything to me," Ryder answered, looking much happier to actually be sitting instead of being forced to stand. He released a content sigh, expression brightening when he realized everyone was actually smiling at him for once. Everyone!

"I mean, I think I was talking all night, but I can't remember him talking back," Ryder explained, limply waving his good hand. "It's, like, all a blur. A big, fat, blur...Oh, oh! You gotta check this out!"

The man paused, as if preparing himself for some great feat, before he forced himself to grin as widely as he could with a split lip and messed up face.

It took Danny a moment to notice what Ryder had wanted them to see, and he sat back in his seat with wide eyes. "Is that...? Are you missing a tooth?" the boy asked.

Ryder nodded quickly and pointed at the new, shiny gold tooth in his mouth. "It got punched out. I actually lost a tooth 'cause someone punched it out. Isn't that awesome?" he exclaimed excitedly, smiling naturally now. "I mean, I always figured it was gonna happen at some point, but this is amazing. It actually happened!"

Shaking his head slowly, Danny muttered, "How'd you even get a new one? Vlad said there wasn't even a doctor in the Infirmary when he went."

Ryder ran his tongue across his new tooth as he replied, "There was a doctor when I got there. He was some sort of ghost, I think. He knew like everything about everything. He fixed my tooth and my ribs." He pulled his shirt up and gestured at the gauze wrapped tightly around his midsection. "I almost can't even tell that a few are broken. And he gave me this stuff, and it's like the best stuff ever. It's like I'm floating all the time, and it's awesome, and you guys should try it."

Danny continued to shake his head, wondering if the man was high on pain pills or just being himself.

"That's...," Vlad started, not sure how to finish his sentence or which expression to show on his face. Finally, the man seemed to give up on something as he shook his head, released a chuckle, and said matter-of-factly, "That's disturbing."

"Um...yeeeaaah," Melody agreed, her eyebrows creased in worried bafflement. Giving her friend a pity smile, she lightly patted his shoulder, saying, "But if that makes you happy, that's okay, Ryder."

"Oh yeah, it's great," Ryder agreed, bobbing his head drunkenly. "I get punched in the face _all_ the time, and I got a new tooth for free. So awesome." He laughed softly before plopping his forehead against the table, shoulders continuing to shake as he chuckled. He suddenly lifted his head back up and looked at Vlad. "So what's this plan? I'm so ready for a plan. _Ohhhh_ man, I'm so tired. I mean, ready! Yeah, ready!"

Raising an eyebrow, Danny couldn't help but smirk a little across the table at Ryder. The man was so far gone. It was either the meds, his poor state, or just his normal personality, but the guy definitely needed to take a nap or something.

"It doesn't matter," Danny answered for Vlad as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's definitely not happening 'cause I'm not doing it, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Well, it's too bad you feel that way, Daniel," Vlad said crisply, "because it's already been decided: you're going to do it. Whether you like it or not, I don't care. We've all suffered for the sake of escape. What makes you think you'll get to go free?" He flashed the boy one of his sly grins as he added, "If it makes you feel any better, we could find a clothespin to put on your nose."

Danny pouted down at the table. "Shut up," he muttered crossly. He still knew he was totally doomed, but that didn't make his demise seem any less worse. The thought of having to climb into a dirty laundry trolly with all of everyone's clothes seriously made his skin crawl. It just sounded so unpleasant.

Ryder couldn't stop himself from laughing drowsily at the boy's expression. "That's what I call a...uh, a burn. Am I right? Huh? I'm totally right," he chuckled out. The thief leaned his elbow on the table and raised a hand up for Vlad to high-five.

Vlad hesitated, struggling with his usual uncompromising pride and obstinateness about his image of superiority, control, and formality. After a brief inward wrestling with himself, Vlad wearily gave up with a grimace and returned the high-five. If he was lucky, Ryder wouldn't even remember the encounter. He was so high on painkillers, Vlad would be surprised if Ryder remembered this day at all. So while avoiding everyone's eyes at the table, Vlad went casually back to his meal.

Still sour from being shut down so easily, Danny grumbled, "Oh, sure, give Ryder a high-five, but not me."

Ryder grinned at that and leaned back in his seat, looking exceptionally proud of himself. "That's 'cause I'm awesome," he said, a distinct slur in his voice. "The most awesomest of awesome people ever to be called awesome!" The man blinked and refocused back on Vlad as he pointed at the man again. "_Heeeey_, I never thanked you. So thanks." He turned towards Danny. "You too." Lastly, he looked at Melody and smiled dopily as he put his arm around her shoulders and leaned on her like a happy drunk out with his friends at a pub. "You three. You're awesome too. Everyone's awesome!"

Sitting back in wonder, Vlad couldn't help but grin a little. He'd never thought Ryder could be even more detached from reality than he was normally, but the man was surely proving Vlad wrong that day.

"Well," Vlad stated with a sardonic grin, searching momentarily for the right sarcastic words, "I've never heard someone say the word awesome that many times in one sitting. You truly are an amazing man, Mr. Walker."

"Try more like retarded," Melody complained as she tried unsuccessfully to disentangle herself from Ryder flopping all over her. She looked highly uncomfortable with Ryder so close and overly happy, yet she couldn't do much about it.

"You are behaving like a moron!" she hissed at Ryder as she struggled some more with their proximity issue.

"An _amazing_ moron," Ryder corrected Melody, nodding seriously to himself. His statement caused Danny's pouty expression to crack as he finally lost it and started laughing. High Ryder was just too much to handle.

Oblivious to the laughter, Ryder leaned further onto Melody, closing his eyes as a comfortable smile slid to his face. "You're so nice, Melody. Like the nicest person ever. I don't care what anyone says. You're so super nice. I want you to meet Jet when we get outta here. He'd totally love you."

Still grinning, Danny nudged Vlad with an elbow and said, "Ten bucks he doesn't remember anything that happened today by tomorrow."

Leaning over to speak into Danny's ear, Vlad said, "Twenty that he doesn't remember the rest of the week."

Without missing a beat, Danny answered, "Deal."

Their bet made, the two half-ghosts turned in their seats and focused in on the action/drama that was Melody and Ryder's life. It didn't matter that neither of them actually had any money to bet with. This was something that just couldn't be passed up without any form of betting.

Looking as comfortable as a bunny in a hunter's trap, Melody tried to get Ryder off her once more by pointing to his tray and saying, "That's nice, Ryder. How 'bout you go eat your food now? Yeah? Food is good and...nice. Yeah. Go...go eat."

Ryder laughed slowly, sounding very much like a movie stuck in slow-motion, as he stared down at his plate. "_Fooood_. I like food. I like pie. I freakin' love pie. That's like...that's like the greatest invention since indoor plumbing or something. Like seriously. Who made pie? I want to meet this pie person. I bet he was French. French people make the greatest stuff."

The man paused, the dreamy smile still plastered on his face. "You smell nice, Melody. Did you know you smell nice? You smell really nice! Doesn't she smell nice, guys?" He looked across the table at Vlad and Danny for support on his statement.

Vlad strained to keep a straight face as he nodded at Ryder. "Indeed," he said. "She smells wonderful."

Danny nodded quickly, attempting to smother his laughter with a serious face. "Oh, yeah, they definitely need to make a perfume called Melody. I think it'd make millions," he agreed.

"Hey! Don't you encourage him," Melody snapped at them, looking perturbed as Ryder continued to drape himself over the girl. "Just get...argh! Get off me, Ryder! You know how I value my space. Remember? The bubble? Remember the bubble? No. No you obviously do not remember my bubble because you are not...not even listening to me!"

"I don't remember seeing any bubbles," Ryder defended himself though he didn't sound like he actually cared about defending himself. He seemed content with leaning on the girl and looking around the room as if seeing it for the first time. Suddenly, the man paused, eyebrows coming together like he was thinking really hard about something. Then, as if a switch had been flicked, his eyes fluttered shut, and he slumped against Melody more than he had been doing before.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Melody grumbled as Ryder suddenly went limp on her shoulder.

"Besides the obvious reasons?" Vlad chuckled.

"Ug, stop being such a...gah...a smart ass," Melody grunted back, scrambling to keep herself upright under Ryder's weight. After a brief effort of exertion, Melody managed to shove Ryder off herself. To her surprise, he tilted upright before tipping the opposite way. Falling completely off his seat, Ryder landed on the ground, silent and heavy as a stone.

_Ding!_

Sliding towards her fallen comrade, Melody glanced down at him as she asked in a grimace, "Ryder? Oh, Ryyyder? Crap. He's out cold."

Danny sat frozen in his seat for a moment before he stood up and peered over the table to get a good look at the thief. Ryder's legs and feet were still hanging over the bench, but his upper body had been flung to the ground thanks to Melody's shove. At the very least, the guy didn't seem to notice because he was so far gone. He even had a slight smile on his face. Hopefully, he was having nice dreams.

The teen glanced up at Melody and demanded, "What the heck's wrong with you? You just shoved an injured man off a bench! You probably re-broke his ribs or something!"

Springing out of her seat, Melody cried, "You saw him! He was all over me! What was I supposed to do? I didn't expect him to just pass out and fall over!"

The girl grabbed Ryder's good shoulder and arm and tried to yank him back up into his seat with little success. Melody just wasn't strong enough to get him upright. Eventually she got him back in the seat, but he only stayed there if she supported him from the behind. Out of breath and brushing golden hair out of her face, Melody pressed her back up against Ryder's to keep him seated.

"Wh-what do we do with him?" she finally asked, glancing over both hers and Ryder's shoulder to look at Vlad and Danny.

With utmost perseverance, Vlad remained composed as he offered, "You could drag him to your display case."

Danny looked over at Vlad, trying to keep his expression firm. His lips wobbled before he pressed them together and forced himself to say, voice unsteady, "That's n-not funny." The boy paused, struggling to stay serious. "He could've a-actually...hurt himself..."

With one glance back at the comatose Ryder slumped over in his seat and Melody's flushed face, Danny successfully lost his internal battle and burst into laughter as he plopped down onto the bench. There was no way he couldn't laugh at this situation. It was too hilarious to not laugh at.

Danny raised his head and gasped out, "Y-yeah, just drag him there. It'll be fine! Prop him up inside like he's not actually passed out. Yeah, totally fine."

Mouth agape in astonishment that they were making fun of her, Melody stared at Danny and Vlad in disbelief.

"You might want to close that jaw of yours," Vlad pointed out with a nefarious grin. "It doesn't become you."

Melody quickly closed her mouth before opening it again to yell at the two, "This...this is _not_ funny! Ryder could be hurt, we have to get to our cases, and I am_ not_ dragging his dead-like body all the way to mine! Why can't you guys take something serious for two seconds, get off your fat asses, and help me here?"

"Well, _maybe_ you shouldn't have pushed him off the bench," Danny suggested, his grin matching Vlad's in the evil department. He was definitely concerned for Ryder's health, but that didn't mean this wasn't funny because it was. Immensely so.

Crossing his arms firmly over his chest and forcing his face to be serious, Danny added, "You could just leave him here, I guess. The guards kinda have to take him to the display case, right? I mean, they might not be gentle 'cause they're sort of jerks, but there ya go."

"Seriously?" Melody said irritably, shoving another unruly strand of hair out of her face. "No. Really. Seriously? You want me to just leave him here while you guys...what are you doing?"

"The way you're propping him up might injure him more," Vlad explained as he rounded the table. Nudging Melody aside, Vlad took her place and lowered Ryder's limp body to the ground. Standing back up and swiftly taking charge, Vlad said, "Leave him. He'll be fine. The guards can take care of him if they want. Now, we need to get our display cases before the Curator notices."

With that said, the group disbanded, leaving a happily comatose Ryder on the floor.

-Hours Later-

Awareness returned slowly to Ryder. First, it felt like he was just floating in nothingness. Then, he upgraded to swimming to the surface of a pool. And lastly, he found himself opening his eyes as sound and feeling came back to him in a rush. The man's eyes opened as he groaned, "_Guuuuh_. Wha' happened?"

Unfortunately, there was no one around to answer his question. Ryder painfully pulled himself up into a sitting position and realized that he'd been laying on the ground outside of his display case. The thief had no clue how he'd ended up there or when he'd been released from the Infirmary, but he figured he'd find out eventually. No reason to stress.

Standing up with all the speed and grace of an elderly man, Ryder made his way to his feet and looked around the room. He spotted Vlad, Danny, and Melody all sitting on top of some picnic tables in the eating area, all intently staring at their cabins as if something exciting was going to happen.

Ryder limped his way up to them, paused as he silently tried to figure out what they were looking at, and said, "Hey, what time is it? I feel like it's late or something, and do you know how I got here? That's kinda an important question too, I guess."

Danny glanced up at the man and smiled a little. "It's dinnertime. You've been unconscious pretty much all day. We're waiting for the maid, and I'm totally winning that bet so far," the teen explained, turning his grin in Vlad's direction.

"It's still too early to tell," Vlad said to Danny with a conspirator's smile. Melody simply rolled her blue eyes and shuffled out of the way for Ryder to sit next to her. This time she gave him a big gap of space as if he was some sick, contaminated person she wanted to avoid.

"How was your nap, Mr. Walker?" Vlad asked the man, his sardonic smile not ready to vanish.

"I was taking a nap?" Ryder muttered, confusion marring his bruised expression. "But I...wasn't I in the...weren't you guys...?" he trailed off and sat down in the space Melody had opened up for him. Once he sat down, it was as if another switch had been hit, and his confusion was replaced by a dopey and blissful smile. "Ah, yeah, it was great," Ryder answered, his eyes clearly dazed and dull. "Are we playing I-Spy? I'm great at I-Spy. Like the best I-Spyer ever. Whose turn is it? Can I play?"

Danny chuckled under his breath and shook his head. "Five seconds of awareness," he said in an approving tone. "I think that's a new record."

"Impressive," Vlad said.

"Will you guys stop behaving like bratty, little boys for two seconds and focus?" Melody sighed in exasperation. All day the two had been ganging up on her as if teasing Melody was some kind of fun sport. In all honestly, she'd rather see the two fight with each other like they did the first week. At least then she or Ryder weren't at the end of every sarcastic remark.

"Look, the maid just came out!" Melody said with sudden excitement, pointing to their cabin behind them. When both halfas turned sharply in their seats to look, they saw absolutely nothing. Giving the pair a harsh, cold smirk as they turned back with scowls on their faces, Melody said, "And that's what it will sound like when you two are too distracted by your silly, sarcastic comments about Ryder's loopy state to pay attention to our plan."

"It's okay," Ryder told Danny and Vlad in a painfully sad and serious voice. "I didn't see her either."

Danny took a moment to glance at the thief and shake his head in amusement before looking back at Melody. He guessed she kind of had a point in her own mean way. He and Vlad had been having too much fun at her expense today - which was really ironic considering he was the one who was about to climb into a pile of dirty clothes to get to freedom. If anything, Melody and Vlad should've been ganging up against him.

_I think I'll let them figure that one out on their own_, the teen decided with a firm nod.

"We're just joking around, Melody," Danny explained with an innocent shrug. "Don't take it so personal..." the boy trailed off when he realized he'd totally just said something Vlad had told him about a billion times. That...that was weird.

Hoping the man didn't notice, Danny quickly turned to Ryder and changed the subject by saying, "I'm gonna hide in the laundry, remember?"

Ryder smiled and nodded along as if he remembered exactly what had happened before he passed out. He had no idea, but that was okay. He'd figure out eventually, he was sure.

Glancing down at Danny, Vlad murmured dryly, "Talk about calling the kettle black."

"What?" Melody said, forehead scrunching up with a perplexity that rivaled Ryder's current lack of understanding.

Looking up, Vlad dashed the comment away with a wave of his hand and saying quickly, "Oh, it was nothing. But you really shouldn't be so serious. This plan won't get us anywhere. It would take a miracle for Danny to somehow find a way to free us all and then for all of us to find a way out. It's simply information we're gathering."

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement," Danny muttered with a roll of his eyes. "It's good to know I've got such a firm belief system in this museum."

"I believe in you, Danny!" Ryder shouted, throwing his good arm in the air as if celebrating someone's birthday. "You can do it! You're the smallest! Woo!"

Grinning, Danny gestured at the insane thief and looked up at Vlad. "See? Now, that's how you do it."

"That man is deranged," Vlad stated. "He probably has no idea what he's even cheering about. I'm just being realistic, Daniel. We can't assume you will magically know the layout of the museum once you're out of this room. That's why we're sending you out there in the first place: to know more about it."

"Just because he's the youngest doesn't make him the smallest," Melody grumbled, still on a subject that only she remembered or cared about.

Danny ignored Melody's comment with a shake of his head and said to Vlad, "Hey, stranger things have happened. I mean, just 'cause this plan is probably gonna fail, doesn't mean I can't pretend that I'm gonna climb into your guys' unmentionables and most likely scar myself for life for no reason."

Before anyone could respond, Ryder took the opportunity to chuckle quietly to himself and push Melody in the arm. "Yeah, it does, Princess Big-butt," he snorted out.

Vlad had opened his mouth to respond to Danny, but he quickly closed it as his focus was forced to shift to Ryder in complete astonishment.

"Oh. My. _Gawd_," Melody said with reined in fury. She was dangerously on the edge of her boiling point. Melody pounded on Ryder's shoulder to get him to stop chuckling. "You jerk! My butt is not big!" Pointing suddenly at Danny and Vlad, she seethed at them, "And don't you guys dare laugh."

"Ha-ha! Ow! Yeah, it is! Ow!" Ryder laughed loudly, wincing the entire time from Melody's quick swats. His smile widened tenfold as he practically yelled, "You got it stuck in a vent! A big vent!"

Danny probably wouldn't have laughed if Ryder hadn't continued, but seeing as how he had, and with little remorse for Melody, he barely stopped himself from obnoxiously cracking up. The teen clamped his mouth shut as he shook his head. "I d-don't know wh-what he's talk-talking about," Danny said, trying to stay serious but failing miserably. The chuckles shaking his shoulders were probably what gave it away.

"I did not get it stuck in the vent!" Melody said in an attempt to do damage control. It was obviously not working because she now saw that even Vlad has succumb to laughter. He tried hard to hide it by looking away and shaking his head, but it was clear to Melody that he was amused too. "I told you guys that I was trying to face another way in the vent and...UG! Nobody ever listens to me here! You guys are all immature babies!"

Face screwing up with anger to hide her embarrassment, Melody glared icily at the guffawing Danny before swinging her leg back and kicking him hard in the shin under the table without any intentions of being nice about it. She just wanted them all to stop.

Danny yelped in pain from the kick, but his laughter quickly returned even as he rubbed his sore shin. "We're not the ones kicking people," he said to Melody, grinning as he stood up to avoid any more kicks. He didn't know what it was, but there was something about teasing Melody that was just too much fun. It was like that feeling he got when he messed with Jazz. It just felt right in some way, like it was his job to make fun of her to make sure her head didn't get too big.

Laughing like a drunk pirate, Ryder leaned away from Melody to get out of range of her swats. "I coulda fit through there," he told the girl through his chuckles. "And I'm bigger than you!"

"Yeah. And I'm pretty sure you cheat at rock, paper, scissors. You win every, single freaking time! Argh! I can't argue with you when you're so wasted on painkillers, Ryder!" Melody snapped back at him as she scrambled out of her seat. "It's like trying to debate with a potato. It's useless."

When Vlad heard this, his laughter died down. He remembered using that same word to describe the man. It was uncanny how him and Melody were so similar at times.

"And you!" Melody suddenly said, pointing at Vlad. The man looked up, a bit surprised. "What are you laughing about?" she asked accusingly.

Smiling smugly as he rested a hand on his palm, Vlad answered calmly, "I'm not laughing."

"But you're smiling! You think this is amusing?"

"Oh, of course not, my dear. You know me. I just adore smiling."

"Your sarcasm is appreciated, I'm sure."

Vlad's grin only widened. Like Danny, he thought it amusing to make Melody so upset. With her amazing amount of pride, she was an easy target. Sometimes even more easy than Danny was.

"Hey," Ryder butted into the argument as he pointed a finger in Melody's vague direction. "I told you, I gots skills. I don't cheat. And...and I don't even like potatoes."

Before the conversation could go any further, the door opened at the far side of the room. Everyone quieted down as their eyes were drawn to the small ghost maid pushing the laundry trolley. She wore the typical maid uniform and even looked kind of happy in her own right as she parked the trolley outside of the men's cabin and went inside.

Danny suddenly lost his smile as the reality of his situation finally hit him. He was really gonna have to do this. No matter how stupid and gross it was going to be, they were gonna force him to do this.

The maid came out with an armful of smelly Ryder clothes, dumped them in the trolley, and went back in for another load. Danny could only cringe as he imagined the smell and...the underwear he would have to see. Crap, he hadn't even thought of that. _Underwear_. He was going to see everyone's underwear.

Shaking his head slowly, the teen muttered, "I can't do this."

"If I could eat 20 pounds of mystery ghost goo and spend the day vomiting it all back up, you can certainly hide in a trolly of smelly laundry for less than 20 minutes," Vlad said with finality. "I'd suggest you go when she moves to Melody's cabin. That way there will be plenty of clothes to hide under."

"Ew," Melody muttered as she thought about Danny having to see her underwear. But she wisely kept this thought to herself. Though it was nasty, she knew the plan needed to be done.

"This is different," Danny grumbled as he continued to shake his head. He honestly would have rather eaten all that food and thrown it back up than do this. "Why can't Ryder..." he trailed off when he turned to look at the man and found him staring around the room in complete wonderment. It was like he'd just seen a unicorn or something.

Danny heaved a sigh. "Never mind."

The ghost maid had already moved the trolley over to Melody's cabin and gone inside to retrieve her clothes. He didn't have much time left to argue. With a grim expression, Danny pulled his shirt up to cover his nose and mouth and turned to look at the three adults. He momentarily pulled his shirt back down to say, "I just want you guys to know that if I see anything embarrassing, like, oh say, Spider-Man boxers, the _world_ will know."

That said, Danny turned his back on the group, charged across the room, and leapt into the trolley without giving himself time to think about how gross this actually was. He just kept his eyes and mouth shut and dug himself deep down into the clothes. Once he was positive he was properly hidden, he went still and waited to be pushed to freedom.

When the ghost maid returned and dumped Melody's clothes on top of Danny, Ryder giggled under his breath and practically sang to Melody, "He just saw your underwear."

Melody snapped her head to look at Ryder, her cheeks turning pink as her inward embarrassing thought now became public. "I hate you," she growled half heartedly to Ryder before collapsing in the seat next to Vlad. She glanced over at the man to see him smiling a little. "Shut up," Melody muttered, folding her arms across her chest in a moody pout.

"I didn't say anything," Vlad said with a shake of his head.

A minute later, the maid came back out with Melody's clothes, dumped them into the trolly, and then pushed it out the room. Vlad and Melody watched the entire process, relieved to see that the maid hadn't noticed the extra weight of Danny at all. For once, it seemed like their plan was going along without a hitch. Now all they had to do was wait for Danny to somehow return.

"Do you want to play a game of chess?" Vlad asked.

Shrugging, Melody answered, "Sure."

While Vlad and Melody had already forgotten about Danny's predicament, the boy was having a hard time not thinking about it. The smell was really bad. Sure, his cabin was pretty raunchy, but this was a whole new smell. Not to mention, though he was keeping his eyes clenched shut, he just knew there was underwear on his head. He just knew it.

The teen breathed in and out through his mouth, doing his best to focus on the movement of the cart as he was pushed out of the room to who knows where.

_Stay focused, stay focused_, he silently chanted to himself, throwing in a few mental curses at Vlad while he was at it. This was probably just payback for the food thing. Danny wouldn't have doubted that for a moment. That was so something Vlad would do just to get back at him for something that wasn't even his idea.

Danny's angry thoughts came to a sudden halt when he realized the trolley had stopped moving. The half-ghost held his breath as he strained his ears to listen for any sign of the ghost maid, but it had gone suspiciously quiet. And dark. Where was he?

_Guess a little investigation is needed_. Danny squirmed around in the pile of clothes, pushing and shoving himself until his head broke free of the dirty laundry, and he was able to see his current location.

There wasn't any lights but it was still pretty easy to see the washers and dryers lined up against the wall. It didn't take much deduction to realize he was in the laundry room. "Duh," Danny muttered to himself as he grabbed hold of the edge of the trolley and pulled himself out of the clothes. He took a moment to shake out the nasty feelings he was having before focusing on the task at hand. That maid would probably be back soon. He needed to move it if he wanted to start his "information gathering."

As much as Danny didn't want to participate in this dumb plan, he didn't really have much of a choice. He was already here, after all. The least he could do was make the best of it. Who knew? Maybe the Collector wouldn't punish him too badly when he caught him. Maybe he'd even figure out how to escape. That'd be nice to rub in Vlad's face.

Grinning at the thought, Danny quickly walked to the door nearby and stuck his head through it. The hallway beyond was stark white, quiet, and empty. Perfect.

The teen moved out into the hallway and began his exploration. As he ran through the silent halls, he tried to keep track of how long he'd been in that laundry pile and how far he was going. _It couldn't have been more than three minutes. That means I'm still really close to the others_, Danny decided as he paused to peer around a corner. _I need to get out of these hallways and get to the main parts of the museum. That's where the exit's gotta be._

After taking several guesses and quickening his pace, Danny stumbled out of the back hallways and into the actual museum. He took a moment to look around at the displays so that he would remember them. He didn't think it'd be too hard to remember seeing a wall of plates with Loony Toons characters on it, but better safe than sorry.

_Alright, so I took a left at the Loony Toons and now I'm going to the_-

Danny's train of thought abruptly came to a screeching halt when he rounded a corner and ran headfirst into someone. And it didn't take him very long to figure out who that someone was.

"Mr. Fenton!"

Grimacing at the angry sound of his name, Danny looked up into the furious and shocked face of the Curator. _Of course_, the teen thought sourly to himself. Vlad wasn't gonna be happy about how quickly he'd just been caught. Danny could just see the insults now.

"What are you doing out here?" the Collector demanded harshly as he towered over the teenaged half-ghost. "I specifically said no more escape plans!"

Danny looked right back up at the ghost, mouth firmly shut as he tried to think of what he could say. It wasn't like he could run. That wouldn't help the others. And it wasn't like he could fight the Curator when the ghost could so easily control him. The only option he really had was to talk his way out of this.

_Crap, what was it that Melody said_? Danny thought, eyebrows coming together as he tried to remember. _Crud, crud, the Collector's not a bad guy, that was it. He cares about us. Right, so just play to his emotions. I can do that._

Swiftly, the teen met the Curator's eyes again and put on his innocent kid face once as he said quietly, "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to escape. I just wanted to see the rest of the museum." When Danny saw the ghost's anger begin to dissipate a bit, he quickly forged on, "I saw some of it a little bit ago, and I just wanted to see more. Everything's so awesome here. All of your displays are really cool."

"Oh," the Curator began, the glow in his eyes dimming as he slowly regained his typical poise. He chuckled, smiling a little. "I understand your curiosity, Mr. Fenton, but you can not simply walk about willy-nilly. Especially when you are supposed to be with the others." The ghost paused for a moment before nodding slowly to himself. "Though...I suppose it's alright. The museum is closed, after all."

Danny nearly jumped out of his skin when the ghost let out a loud laugh and placed an icy, cold hand on his shoulder. "Well, come along then, my halfa. I will give you a short tour if you so desire, but then you must return to your area," the Curator explained as he turned the boy around and led him down the direction he hadn't decided to go.

Although Danny wished the creepy ghost would stop touching him, he couldn't do much about it. If he did, that would just blow his cover and right now he was actually tricking the ghost into helping his mission. So, the teen stuck a painfully fake smile on his face and let the Collector lead him along while he explained the various displays in his museum.

When they had stopped at a large display of "Human Vehicular Transportation," Danny finally decided to go out on a limb and softly clear his throat to interrupt the Collector.

"Excuse me, Mr. Curator sir," Danny started once the ghost's eyes dropped down to him. He took in a steadying breath and forced himself to meet the ghost's gaze. "I'm just...I want to know why you won't let us go. We...we don't belong in the Ghost Zone. I've got my family and friends back home. You know that. You know that they miss me. You say that you care about us...but why won't you let us go?"

At first, the Collector seemed surprised by the question, but that emotion was quickly dashed away by slight annoyance. His brow furrowed, and he turned to face the display in front of him rather than look at Danny. For a moment, Danny didn't think the ghost would answer him, but the Collector let out a soft sigh and murmured, "Because, Mr. Fenton."

Danny frowned at the response. "Because why?" he demanded, his anger showing in the tone of his voice.

The Collector took a moment to glance at the teen before he looked away again. "I do not return things that I value," he evenly said, hands squeezing into fists behind his back. "I have never returned an object that I have brought here...and I do not intend to start now. I am truly sorry you and your...friends feel that you don't belong here, but the fact is that you do. I have made sure that you do."

"But we're not things!" Danny finally shouted up at the ghost. He threw his hands to the side as he yelled, "You can't decide what's good or bad for us! You don't have that right!"

The ghost's face contorted with an emotion Danny couldn't describe, and his eyes flared up again. "I can, and I am!" the Collector snapped back at Danny as he spun to face him. "You must understand this because I will say it no longer. You are not leaving here. _Ever_. You belong to me now."

Danny wanted to step away from the furious ghost, but he remained where he was and glared right back into his eyes. "You don't think you're the bad guy," he eventually muttered, his voice even despite how mad he was. The boy slowly shook his head. "But you are. As long as you keep us here, you're the bad guy."

The Collector pressed his lips into a firm line, looking highly agitated by what the boy had said. He didn't respond for a moment before he growled, "We will return to your area now. This tour is over. _Do not speak until I leave you_."

Danny was forced to shut his mouth as the Curator turned him again and forced him to walk back where they had come from. The teen stared pensively at the ground as he silently worked his jaw. Melody was truly wrong about the Collector. The ghost _was_ a bad guy, and Danny wasn't going to stop until he'd beaten him once and for all.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Expect the next one on Monday this week. See you readers then!


	14. Chapter 14 Doodles and More Underpants

A/N: Yay for two updates in one week! I like this chapter, actually. Although it's not exactly the the most funny or action packed, but you really get to know two of the characters more in depth, and that's what's cool. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Ryder is even more delusional on drugs, which is quite a feat. Despite this, the team comes up with a recon mission where Danny has to go through the laundry trolly to get out of the main room and explore the museum. The teen doesn't make it very far and ends up bumping right into the Collector. In the end, Danny sees the Curator as the villain and vows to escape the museum no matter what.

Chapter 14 Doodles and More Underpants

The chess game had been completely forgotten. Melody and Vlad sat listening intently to Danny's tale of him venturing out around the museum, his capture and tour, and then eventually his brief encounter with the Collector at the end. As the story progressed, Melody kept pulling her hair up into a high pony tail, letting it drop, and then repeating the cycle.

Vlad, on the other hand, was strictly passive. While he'd been angry at first at Danny for getting himself discovered and caught so quickly, he had to give the teen some credit for talking his way into a tour. Still, it was obvious to Vlad that Danny had been fazed by his run in with the Collector. Vlad understood how he felt. There was just something so profoundly restricting and infuriating about the ghost. The Collector had an eerie way of making you feel less than human, that you were simply an object he possessed. In a way, Vlad was thankful he wasn't the only one who experienced this agitated feeling after talking with the Collector.

Once Danny was finished, the table was silent except for Ryder's loud snoring. He'd passed out not long after Danny had left. Now he was drooling all over the table as he slumbered peacefully into oblivion.

Finally, Vlad cleared his throat and said without looking up from the table, "You did a good job, Danny. I thought you might be able to learn a little of the layout of the museum, but you ended up getting a tour. Do you think you might be able to remember any of it?"

"Maybe," Danny answered after a short pause. Like Vlad, he wasn't looking at anyone else. He preferred to glare off at the wall as he went over his conversation with the Collector over and over again. Each time he thought of it, he just got more annoyed and frustrated. Worst of all, he was feeling incredibly homesick, and the last thing he wanted was for everyone else to know that. All he could do was try and hide his real feelings with a scowl and averted eyes.

The teen sighed and shook his head. "I can get us to the main part of the museum, but I don't know about anywhere else," he added, his tone hinting at his hidden emotions. Danny glanced momentarily at Vlad and Melody before looking away again. "It was...hard to focus."

"Maybe if you could draw it out, you could re-jog your memory," Vlad mused aloud, rubbing his chin. Looking up, he asked Melody, "Do you have any paper and something to write with?"

"I have plenty of pens and markers," Melody answered. She made a face as she added in a mutter, "But for some reason all the post-it notes I stole are gone. I think I just misplaced them, though."

To avoid glancing at Ryder, Vlad gave a nod and asked, "Could you get them? Anything is better than nothing at this point."

Melody shrugged in agreement before getting up and walking over to her cabin. Once she was inside, Vlad leaned forward in his seat, pinning Danny with a curious stare. He knew something was bothering Danny, but he wasn't sure what it was beside what the Collector had told him.

"Is there something you're not telling us, Daniel?" Vlad asked sternly.

Danny didn't want to look at the man, but his firm tone forced him to look back at Vlad. His frown remained fixed to his face as he stared across the table at Vlad, unsure of what exactly to say. He didn't want to talk about how he was feeling because he was sure Vlad would just tell him to suck it up and stop being such a baby. And that would get him absolutely nowhere in feeling better. Actually, it'd probably just make him feel worse.

And why was Vlad asking anyway? What did he care? Did he think he was just hiding some big, important secret from him or something?

The teen wasn't sure what to say so he just went with what he was comfortable with: sarcasm.

"Oh, yeah, there is," Danny replied, looking right back at Vlad as he nodded mockingly. "I didn't tell you that I just happened to pass by the exit _and_ that it's actually marked with a flashing red sign that says 'Exit' above it. Ya caught me."

Vlad rolled his eyes in slight annoyance, but he knew something had to be wrong if Danny was resorting once again to his defensive sarcasm. "I didn't mean it like that," Vlad said. "I just want to know if the Curator said anything specifically to you. Like a threat, some form of blackmail, or something similar. We need to know what we're dealing with, Danny. If we don't understand, we could make a mistake. And you're clearly upset about something. I just want to know if it has anything to do with your talk with the Curator. That's all."

_Oh, I get it now_, Danny thought as he leaned back in his seat a bit. Vlad wasn't actually concerned about him; he was just curious if the Collector had threatened him because he was concerned that he'd be the one to get threatened next. That made sense.

Dropping his frown, Danny looked away again and shook his head. "No, he didn't say anything. It's nothing," he muttered under his breath.

Vlad's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. If it wasn't the Collector that was bothering the boy, Vlad didn't understand why the teen was so currently upset. Glancing back to Melody's cabin then to Danny's forlorn figure at the end of the table again, Vlad went out on a limb as he asked, "Then why are you so disconcerted?"

Danny's eyes drifted down to the table as he silently tried to figure out why Vlad was still talking to him. He didn't get it. Vlad never cared about how he felt unless it was going to affect something he was doing. However, they weren't stuck in their display cases so Vlad could just easily walk away and avoid him if he wanted to.

The teen closed his eyes and shook his head. He was definitely thinking too much about this. That was what this dumb museum had done to him. He was over-thinking everything.

Letting out a sigh, Danny mumbled, "I just-."

He had to stop when Ryder's snoring cut off for a moment, allowing him to grunt, "Mmm'ug monkey wrench," before he turned his head to the side and settled back down again.

Danny smirked a little as he wondered what the man could possibly be dreaming about before he reluctantly finished, "-miss my family, I guess. I know they're worried about me, and I can't do anything about it. It...it sucks."

Vlad heaved a sigh of relief, happy to know that Danny's distress wasn't coming from an abnormal factor. The teen would be fine, and so would everyone else.

"Mmm. Homesickness," Vlad said, nodding. "That's understandable. Granted, I've been feeling the same, as I'm sure everyone else has. Thankfully, though, the feeling comes in waves."

"Yeah...I guess so," Danny slowly agreed. In an odd way, it was nice that Vlad automatically understood where he was coming from since they were both stuck in the same situation. On the other hand, it sucked that both of them were stuck in this situation in the first place. The only positive he could see was that he and Vlad could actually talk to each other somewhat. It worked in its own weird way.

"I just- I kinda don't want to think about them 'cause it just makes me feel worse," Danny admitted, shuffling his feet uncomfortably beneath the table. "But I can't help but think of them even though it makes me feel worse because it makes me feel better too." He smirked at himself and muttered, "I'm not making sense."

Vlad heard and understood what Danny was trying to say, but he knew he'd never fully, truly know what the teen was talking about. Unwillingly, Vlad remembered his times away from his parents when he was Danny's age. Those were times of liberation and freedom. Never once did he consider the fact that his parents could be worried about him in the way he knew Danny's parents were worried about him. Vlad knew that, if anything, his parents had probably felt relief whenever he left for an extended time. He was always one less factor to stress about in their busy lives.

Sure, there were probably some people back in Amity Park who would worry about their missing mayor, but their worry wouldn't be the same as Danny's parents' and friends' worry. Vlad couldn't think of anyone who could be genuinely missing him except for an uncle who lived overseas. But even then it was hard contacting his uncle these days, so communication came in short spurts throughout the years. Briefly, Vlad wondered if his uncle even knew if his nephew was kidnapped. Probably not. It was kind of a depressing thought.

Closing his eyes, Vlad commanded the thoughts away with a short sigh. There was no need to take a trip down memory lane. It wouldn't get him anywhere.

Danny knew something was wrong when Vlad didn't respond. He quickly glanced up at the man to see if he was mad at him for bringing up his family, but he didn't look angry. He looked kind of sad...in a Vlad way. What could he be upset about, though? He hadn't said anyth- wait a minute.

The teen grimaced when he realized his mistake. _Smooth, Fenton. Real smooth. Why don't you bring up the fact that his cat probably ran away by now too?_

Danny quickly averted his eyes in case Vlad looked at him as he tried to think of something to say. Did Vlad even have any family? He had to have family somewhere right? He couldn't have just sprung up from nowhere one day fully grown. So if Vlad did have family, did he miss them? That was the question. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't.

He really had no idea what to do. Danny wanted to make Vlad feel better, but he didn't have a very good record of doing that in the past. He might just make him angry by trying to help. That happened a lot.

Brow furrowing in worry, the teen hesitantly murmured, almost too quietly to hear over Ryder's snores, "I bet my parents are really worried about you too. Heh, wouldn't surprise me if my dad started putting your face on milk cartons by now. That's a fun thought, right?"

Vlad looked up at Danny with a dry, unamused smile. He thought the boy was trying to goad him, but Vlad wasn't about to take the bait. He wasn't in the mood for an argument, which he found odd. When it usually came down to the ghost boy, especially Danny's father, Vlad always thought the more arguing the better. Now it seemed he tried his hardest to prevent one.

"I have in mind a lot of words to describe my feeling toward your father slapping my face on milk cartons back home," Vlad said with a cheeky smile, "and fun is not one of them."

Danny simply rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well, you _are_ the human thesaurus," he agreed, also hoping to avoid an argument. The last thing he wanted anymore was to fight with Vlad. Of course, back home, he'd never really wanted to fight with the guy in the first place, but Vlad always got him to somehow. At least here they both seemed to make an effort to avoid biting each others heads off.

The teen glanced back at Vlad and smirked. "I'm sure you can think of a word that's both mean and smart at the same time."

"What kind of word game are you guys playing?" Melody asked in confusion. Vlad and Danny looked up at her sudden presence. She held a few pens in one hand and a single yellow notecard in the other as she stared at them with her head tilted to the side.

"It was nothing," Vlad brushed the previous conversation aside. "What's more important is what Danny remembers from the tour. Did you find the post-it notes?"

"No," Melody sighed in defeat. "Can't find them anywhere." She glared half heartedly at the passed out Ryder while muttering, "I wonder if he's behind this."

"Let's focus," Vlad said.

"Right," Melody said, nodding. She put the materials on the table in front of Danny, saying, "Don't treat this like it's art class, kid. Stealing that notecard wasn't easy, and it's my last one."

"So no pressure or anything," Danny sarcastically agreed as he picked up a pen and looked down at the notecard. It was then that he realized...he couldn't draw. Sure, doodling wasn't that hard, but actually drawing something that was going to be their map to lead them out of this place was a totally different story.

_Ok...don't think about it. Just draw_, Danny told himself as he pulled the notecard close and rapidly sketched out what he remembered of the tour. Once he was done, he sat back in his seat and looked at what he'd done.

Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. Or coherent. Or helpful at all, really.

Danny grimaced as he picked up the card and tried to figure out exactly what he'd just drawn. He guessed it made sense...sorta. It just looked like a bunch of blocks, squiggles, and lines. He didn't think anyone else was gonna be able to read it and make sense of it.

"Um...tada?" Danny said, dropping the notecard back onto the table so Vlad and Melody could see it. There was no use trying to hide the evidence. He was a crappy artist.

Melody and Vlad stared at the notecard long and hard, trying desperately to decipher what it was they were seeing. Vlad was more gracious as he looked up at Danny with puzzlement all over his face. Melody, on the other hand, wasn't as quiet as she stated the obvious.

"Your map looks like shit," she stated. Vlad glared at her as if in warning to behave, but the girl couldn't be quieted as she added, "I mean, it looks like your pen just had diarrhea all over my notecard."

"Ok, so I can't draw!" Danny snapped back at her, rubbing his forehead with the side of his fist. He couldn't get over how jerky Melody was being over something so pointless. Could she just not help herself or something? "Why don't you just sue me and get it over with already?"

Melody opened her mouth to snap something back, but Vlad quickly intervened as he said sternly, "That's enough." Thankfully, Melody settled down in a pout, glaring at both of the halfas moodily.

Getting back on track, Vlad told Danny truthfully, "She's right, Daniel. I can't make heads or tales of your drawing. I'm not sure if you're trying to write in another language or imitating Picasso. But the point of the matter is that we still need more information. Thankfully, the Curator didn't find out how you exactly got out; meaning, we can still use that laundry escape method in the future. Next time, though, it's not only Danny that's going. This kind of mission needs two people for it to work properly."

"What are you getting at?" Melody asked cautiously. She didn't like where the man was taking this.

Leaning back in his seat with a smug smile, Vlad explained nonchalantly, "We need another reconnaissance mission, and it is going to be you two who will have to pull it off."

There was a moment's pause as Danny tried to assimilate what Vlad had just told him in his head. When he was sure he understood the man right, the teen crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

"No," he said firmly, doing his best to make his tone no-nonense like Vlad was able to do most of the time. "Heck no. Not happening. I'm not doing that again with her. I don't think so. I'd rather have a tea party with Skulker, thank you very much."

"Look, we're not asking for-," Vlad began.

"_We_? Who's this _we_?" Melody butted in, narrowed eyes and voice sharp. "For once I'm on the twerp's side. I'm not doing this mission. I'm not getting in a basket filled with everyone's smelly, disgusting laundry all around me with this dorky kid, and that's final, alright? You can't tell us what to do like you're our parent or something."

"I'm not your parent," Vlad said severely, becoming a little frustrated. "And I am not telling you what to do like I am one. All I'm saying is that if we are to escape, we need to know the museum. It is the same when you rob a place. You have the know the layout of the building you are stealing from if you want the heist to go properly." Glaring at both Danny and Melody, Vlad finished resolutely, "If either of you want to escape from here, both of you will need to do this mission. Understand?"

Both Melody and Danny shared a look of pure loathing as they both silently came to the same conclusion. As much as they hated to admit it, Vlad was right. If they ever wanted out of this place, everyone was going to have to sacrifice something. In this case, it was their dignity and their sense of smell.

Danny sighed despairingly as he nodded in agreement to what Vlad had said. If he'd done it once, he guessed it wouldn't be so bad to do it again.

Just as the boy was going to speak, Ryder suddenly snorted and shook himself as he lifted his head up from the table. His dulled and foggy eyes seemed to breeze across the faces of the people around him like he couldn't actually see them. He was smiling, though.

"Don't...don't trust the llamas, kay?" the thief slurred, his head bobbing up and down like a duck on a lake. "They're two-two faced, those llamas."

With that, Ryder's eyes closed again as his head thumped back onto the table and his snoring promptly returned.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, was Ryder's Words of Wisdom," Danny muttered. "Thank you for joining us."

Two Days Later

"Ug, this was definitely worse the second time around," Danny complained as he heaved himself up and out of the trolley of dirty clothes. He grimaced when, for probably the third time, Melody elbowed him in the side of the head as she squirmed about to free herself.

Once the teen had successfully escaped the dirty clothes, he turned back and reached down to help Melody out of the trolley before she had a complete spazz attack.

With a growl, Melody shoved Danny's hand away. She didn't want his help getting out of the basket. Her pride just wouldn't allow it, especially since her pride at the moment was so low. Scrambling ungracefully over the side of the basket, Melody dropped down beside Danny, shuddering from all the nasty bits of clothing she had touched and the rancid smells attacking her nose. Screaming a little, she flung a pair of boxers that had been hanging off her shoulder back into the basket.

"So, so, so, _soooo_ gross!" she squealed.

Danny took a moment to stare in wonderment at Melody as she basically did a 'I'm-totally-disgusted' dance. He knew she was girly, but this definitely took the cake in the girly department. He was almost positive Sam wouldn't hesitate to comment sarcastically on how overdramatic the girl was being. Although he really wanted to say all of this to her for hitting him in the head so many times, he decided to take the high road and save the insults for later.

"Yeah...it was gross," Danny agreed, shaking his head as he led the way over to the exit. "But try and stay quiet. I don't know where that maid goes off to, so we need to hurry." He opened the door and peered out into the quiet hallway before looking back at Melody. "You coming? Or you wanna stay here and keep spazzing?"

Exhaling loudly, Melody pushed her way past Danny, peered quickly into the hallway beyond, and then walked out. "Shut up," she hissed back at Danny. "I wasn't spazzing." Unfortunately, she didn't have a word in mind to replace spazz, so she remained silent as she traversed the quiet hallway.

"This place is so damn creepy," she muttered to herself as she looked around.

Glancing back to Danny, Melody said, "Alright, we need a system if this mission is going to work out. I'll observe and try to remember where everything is while you be my lookout. Got that?"

Danny gave Melody a half-hearted thumbs up and said, "Got it." Seeing as how she'd never let him lead, Danny just trailed along beside the girl, keeping his eyes peeled for signs of the Collector or his guards. However, like yesterday, the museum was closed and it was eerily quiet throughout the building now.

"This is where I got last time before I ran into the Collector," Danny whispered to Melody as they passed by the wall of Loony Toons plates. The teen almost expected to see the ghost again, but they were able to move on without getting caught just yet. That was encouraging.

Vlad and Ryder

"Hey, Vlad...Vlad..._Vlaaaad_," Ryder whined to the man as he stared up at the ceiling. He stretched his free hand up above his head as if he was reaching out to high-five God or something, patiently waiting for a response from Vlad. This patience lasted about four seconds longer before Ryder finally cracked and tilted his head back to look at the man.

"Why is it that in 80's movies...everyone drives a station wagon?" Ryder asked, curiosity evident in the furrow of his eyebrows. "I don't remember seeing a lot of station wagons when I was a kid. Is that...is that a white person thing? You can level with me on this, Batman. I'm serious. I won't tell anyone."

Looking up from his book, Vlad stared flatly at Ryder before returning his eyes to the page he was on. The man wasn't the best at French, but he found the challenge of reading it in _War and Peace_ entertaining. What he_ didn't_ find entertaining was Ryder's constant, incoherent ramblings.

Turning the page to his book and without looking up, Vlad said emotionlessly, "I'm sure it is a white person thing, Mr. Walker."

Danny and Melody

After a few minutes of looking around the empty museum that reminded the girl of her old boarding school, Melody was pleased to find a stand full of brochures. She picked one up and quickly unfolded it to look at the map. "Oh," she muttered in dismay. Her shoulders slumped at what she saw. It wasn't an uplifting sight.

"Come over here," Melody told Danny. She held the brochure out for Danny to view as she told him, "This escape is going to be harder than we thought. So you know how we thought everything was on the same level? Well, it's not. See this? We're on the _second_ floor of three floors."

"...Crap," was Danny's first response. What else could he really say? As if it wasn't going to be hard enough to escape before, now the task seemed completely impossible. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around the hallway, extremely nervous about getting caught being so far out in the open.

They were making progress. He wanted to keep going just to see how far they could get. Anything that defied the Collector was definitely worth doing to the fullest.

"Well, is the elevator on that map?" Danny asked and leaned over to look at it himself. Thankfully, the elevator was on there, and they were actually pretty close to it. The teen glanced up at Melody and said, "Let's try to get to it before we get caught. I gotta see this other floor."

"For once, we agree," Melody said as she took off in a brisk walk toward the elevator. Once there, she pressed the button to go down. She studied the map as the two waited for the elevator to get there. There wasn't much to talk about between her and Danny, and she didn't want to start their usual pointless arguing. Remaining silent was the best they could do.

_Ding!_

Both Danny and Melody shuddered as the elevator doors opened to the bell chime that uncannily sounded like the one that always sounded when they had to go to their display cases. Without glancing at Danny, Melody waltzed into the empty elevator and pressed the button to the first floor. The doors closed, soporific music played, and Melody avoided looking at Danny to combat the awkwardness now creeping upon them as the elevator descended.

With a sudden lurch, the elevator jerked to an abrupt stop, and the lights went out. Melody gave a surprised scream as she almost fell to the ground, clutching onto the side railing to keep her balance. After a few seconds, the red emergency lights came on, bathing the small box in an eerie, crimson glow.

Danny straightened himself up after nearly falling and looked around the elevator, his expression void of emotion. He wasn't too surprised, honestly. Every time they tried to escape, something went horribly wrong. He was starting to get used to it by now.

"Well..." the teen glanced up at Melody after releasing a sigh. "...at least Ryder's not here."

Vlad and Ryder

"...And words. What's the deal with words? Like, who sat down one day and was all 'hey, this word means chair.' And, like, did everyone listen to them or something? Like, did everyone just agree that chair meant a chair? That's...that's just awesome..."

Ryder paused in his ramblings as he tilted his head to the side to look at Vlad again. The man hadn't really been saying much, but that was okay. Vlad was reading the book he'd stolen for him, so that made him feel all smiley inside...and outside.

Chuckling under his breath, Ryder rolled his head back so that he was staring up at the ceiling. "I can't _waaaait_ to get outta here, Vlad," he slurred the words out, happiness deeply engrained his voice. "I can see Jet again, and Esperanza, and-and then I can get a beer. Man, I want a beer so bad. Do you like beer? I like beer. And then I can read to Jet. He loves it when I read. He loves those books about the-the Funtastic Fox guy or whatever his name is. Loves them."

Ryder let out a happy sigh, smiling at absolutely nothing in particular. "_Ohhhh_, Vlad, I don't know how much of what I say is true," he declared, shoving his hand over his face as he shook his head and laughed. "I don't...I don't know anymore. I never knew."

Sighing as he continued to read, Vlad said tediously, "Consider yourself lucky, Mr. Walker."

Danny and Melody

"What the _hell_?" Melody exclaimed in confusion.

Pacing the small space of the elevator, Melody braided tiny strands of her hair as she ranted, "Of all the times we try to escape, why does the one time we get in an elevator have to be the one where we get stuck in it? And just to rub it all in, I get stuck with you after swimming in a basket of underpants. It's ridiculous, I tell you! Normal people don't have this kind of bad luck. This so _stupid_!"

"Yeah, well, welcome to my life," Danny grumbled back at the pacing girl. He'd sat down against the wall to wait out however long it'd take the guards to find them trapped yet again. Pacing wouldn't do anything, and it wasn't like he could go anywhere. Of course, it just added insult to injury that Melody was here with him.

Danny placed his chin on his crossed arm and muttered, "I'm pretty sure I have the worst luck on the planet, so sorry about that. I'm pretty sure it just rubbed off on you."

The boy frowned as he thought about all the bad crap that had happened to him over the years. He'd been joking about the bad luck at first, but when he really stopped to think about it, he realized that he definitely had terrible luck. How else would he have ended up in this museum in the first place?

"Well, thanks for that," Melody snapped sarcastically back at Danny. "Because what I really needed today was more bad luck." In a low grumble she added more to herself than to Danny, "Seems like the day I set foot here that's all I've been getting. I'm sick of it all."

As her initial anger died down, Melody slowed her pace until she finally halted in front of the elevator's control panel. She stared at it for a moment, as if trying to calculate something she wasn't sure about. With a firm shake of her head, she decided against whatever she had been debating and went back to her pacing. This time, though, she kept her hands out of her hair as she folded her arms across her chest.

_Ug, stop with the pacing_, Danny complained in his head. _That's too Vlad-like. Cut it out, Melody. Seriously._ The teen groaned when the girl didn't stop and shoved his face into his knees. Didn't he get enough of Vlad's pacing in the display case? Now Melody was doing it. Why couldn't people just stand still?

Danny released a heavy sigh and glanced back up at Melody just as she was staring intently at the control panel. A frown came to the boy's face when he saw her expression. It was very similar to a face he'd seen Tucker make about a billion times whenever he was trying to hack into something or just found something of interest on the web.

"Hey, Melody," Danny quietly said to get the girl's attention. He didn't wait for a response before he blurted out in a rush, "Are you a hacker or something? 'Cause you've got all those computer things in your cabin, and it reminds me of some stuff my friend Tuck's got in his room back home, and he's really good with computers, and I was just wondering if you were too."

Melody stopped pacing as she heard the dreaded question, pinning her stare on Danny. She kept her face expressionless as the girl desperately thought of excuses and lies to tell. If Danny had figured it all out on his own, though, it was probably too late to fool him. Besides, he had a friend who was a hacker. Danny of all people would be able to know the signs of one. It was better to just end the discussion before it got anywhere, she finally decided.

"I don't do that anymore," she said in a quiet, cold voice before going back to her pacing.

_Sheesh, bite my head off, why don't'cha_? the teen thought, shocked at the coldness in Melody's tone. Whether she knew it or not, she'd just piqued his interest. Why was she so defensive about being a hacker? Tuck seemed really proud of it, and he didn't hesitate to shove that knowledge into his and Sam's faces whenever he got the chance.

"Is that why the Collector brought you here?" Danny persisted, unable to fight down his nagging curiosity. He'd never really thought much about either of the thieves' personal lives. He figured it was a don't ask, don't tell kinda thing. But now he wanted to know. "Are you like the master hacker or something?"

Anger rushed through Melody as she spun around to face Danny again, hands clenched into fists. She couldn't believe that the kid was asking her these kinds of questions. He'd never shown an ounce of interest in her life this entire time, and she'd gladly returned the favor. Now it was like he couldn't stop the interrogation.

"Why do you even care?" Melody asked in a sneer.

Danny could only shrug back up at Melody. He'd always wanted to know about Melody and Ryder's past, but it'd always been rude and inconvenient to ask. Not to mention, he figured he'd never get a straight answer from either of them, anyway, but being stuck in small places made him do weird things. Vlad could definitely attest to that one.

"I dunno," he honestly admitted, shrugging again. "I guess I'm just curious. I've known you for awhile now, and I feel like I don't even know you at all, really. And you never seemed like the thief type in the first place." Danny attempted a smile as he added, "And hacking's pretty cool too."

Melody didn't know what to do with such an honest answer. In her old life, honesty was in short supply. There was no room for it...except with some certain people, or more like person. Since coming to the museum, though, honesty wasn't exactly something everyone expressed willingly. There was always a motive behind every good act or truthful word. Yet here Danny was just spilling out his every thought as if it was no big deal. The girl didn't understand, and she was running out of time before the awkward silence kicked in. So she decided to simply wing it.

"I don't care what you think it is," Melody said. "Hacking is dorky. Period. And because you think it's cool, you're probably proving my point. Also, just so you understand, I didn't do a lot of hacking like what I'm sure your friend does. I worked with numbers, banking accounts, and the like. I've always...I've always been good with numbers. Not exactly the coolest tool to have, but at least I've never had to use a...um...a calculator. Yeah..."

Melody died off at the end, trying not to outwardly express the true awkwardness she was currently feeling on the inside. She hadn't expected to say that much, especially to Danny, but once she started she couldn't stop. She felt kind of guilty, though. Some of that stuff she hadn't even told Ryder about.

"Man, I bet you could seriously help me with math," Danny said, grinning to hide his surprise. Melody had actually answered him truthfully. She hadn't yelled at him for being stupid, she hadn't insulted him, and she hadn't lied. That was basically going against everything he knew about her up to this point.

"It's...y'know, really hard to study when I've got so much stuff to do," the teen went on, hoping to make Melody feel less awkward. He could just sense that she felt weird about telling him something about herself so he felt it was best to do the same. "Sometimes I'll stay up to like four in the morning ghost fighting, and then I gotta wake up at seven to go to school. And then I gotta pay attention somehow even with ghost popping up during classes. And then it just gets worse when I go home."

Danny shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I get tired just thinking about it sometimes," he added in a mutter. The boy glanced back up at Melody, saying, "And don't worry. I'm not gonna tell Vlad anything." He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Let the fruitloop figure it out on his own."

"Mmm. For all I know, he already _does_ know," Melody complained in a huff. She was glad they were getting off the subject of her, though. "He's probably just keeping it a secret until the right time for whatever reason. That guy always knows too much. You're totally right. He is a major fruitloop."

Glancing down at Danny and trying to hid her curiosity, she asked him with a cute tilt of her head, "How do you and Vlad even get to know each other. You're the only two half ghosts in the world, and it's not like you two proclaimed your powers to everyone. At first I assumed it was because Vlad could be one of your enemies while you were in ghost form or whatever you call it, but you guys seem to know each other well enough in human form too."

_Crap_. Danny grimaced and turned his eyes away from Melody. He'd been hoping to avoid ever going into this subject with either Melody or Ryder simply because he didn't know how they'd react to knowing what Vlad had done to him in the past. Would they freak out and be wary of the guy like they had every right to be? Or would they just accept it like torturing a fifteen year old kid was no big deal?

"It's...it's a long story," Danny eventually murmured, keeping his gaze focused on the doors of the elevator. Maybe if he just stared at them long enough they'd open and save him from the horrible turn the conversation had taken.

Frowning, Melody crossed her arms again. While she found it interesting that even the superhero kid wanted to keep secrets in this place, she was more insulted than curious. "Oh, yeah, sure," she said irritably. "You can ask me questions all about my past, but I can't ask you one without you getting all quiet and emo on me."

Leaning against one of the walls, Melody stared moodily at the control panel again as she muttered, "What did I even expect?"

"I'm not being emo," Danny responded after blowing out a sigh. "It's just...it's a touchy subject, ok? I don't really know what to say without making everything sound bad because it is bad, but, I mean-argh."

The teen closed his eyes and thunked his head back against the wall. He honestly felt bad about keeping this from Melody because she had a point. She had shared something with him, and it wasn't exactly fair to not do the same. But what could he say that didn't make Vlad look like the villain that he was?

Danny slowly reopened his eyes and looked up at Melody. "Vlad and I...we're not friends," he began slowly, pressing his lips into a firm line. His eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head. "My parents knew him when they were in college. They all were pretty good friends until- there was this accident that gave him ghost powers and after that...it just wasn't the same."

The half-ghost swallowed, forcing himself to continue no matter how much he didn't want to. "The first time I met him, he almost killed me, but then he found out who I was and that I had powers like him, too. And...and he wanted us to be allies, but I can't ever do that. He hates my dad, and he's got this weird, freaky love-crush on my mom, and he's tried to clone me, and then he became mayor just to mess with me, and he set up all these ghost detectors around town so I can't even go ghost when I want to and...and..."

Danny closed his mouth and shook his head. _I shouldn't have said anything_, he thought as he rubbed his forehead. _Vlad's gonna kill me_.

The more Danny kept talking, the wider Melody's eyes became. It was at this point that she realized all her assumptions about Danny and Vlad had been just that: assumptions. Didn't make them true in the least bit. Hearing all this from Danny, who she knew to be more open and honest than Vlad, was all new to Melody. She now knew why the kid wanted to keep it in. This was something Vlad probably would never want to be said publicly, especially to her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Melody said loudly. "Back up the drama llama gossip train for two seconds, kid. Ok. You're telling me that Vlad went to the same college as your mom and dad. The same parents who are now ghost hunters. And he was friends with them, so that means they probably studied the same thing. So did they study ghost stuff or whatever you call it together or something? Was it like a Ghost Busters thing? How did this accident even happen? I mean, it's not like these things happen ev-...oh my gosh!"

Melody put her hands over her mouth as she figured it out in her head. She looked at Danny for his reaction before pulling her hands away and saying quietly, "Oh. My._ Gawd_. Did your parents cause the same accident that happened to Vlad to you too?"

Danny could only cringe the longer Melody babbled to him. He knew he'd made a mistake. This was why Vlad hadn't wanted him to talk to her. He'd said way too much and now there was nothing he could do to take it back. The teen winced when she directly asked him another question he didn't want to answer.

"Sort of," he squeaked out, completely flabbergasted as to why he was still talking. He'd made a big enough mess already. Now he was just making it worse!

"I mean, wait," Danny quickly amended himself, "I kinda accidentally did it, but it was 'cause my parents thought that the Ghost Zone portal wasn't working, but it was. I went inside and...turned it on..."

Danny looked up at Melody, his eyes pleading. "Don't tell Vlad anything, please. I shouldn't have said anything. He's gonna kill me if he finds out. Just...just don't say anything to him about this."

Pieces of the puzzle had been falling into place inside Melody's head, but everything came to a halt after Danny's plead to keep everything hush-hush. Confusion swept across the girl's face as she reared back and studied Danny intently. She didn't understand his motives.

"Why would you care?" she asked. "I mean, he's your enemy. Sure, he might be angry for awhile, but, between you and me, I'd say he's naturally that cranky. He'll get over it. Though if he's not over what happened to him in college by now, I'd say he's someone who keeps a grudge. But - ug. I'm getting off the subject. Whether he hates you or not for it, it shouldn't matter. So why do you care what he thinks?"

"Of course he keeps a grudge!" Danny shouted as he jumped to his feet. "He's hated my dad for years! He doesn't just let things go! He can't!" He shoved his hands through his hair as he began to pace back and forth in the elevator. He was just digging himself deeper with every new word that came out of his mouth. There was literally no way to make this situation any better.

"Because...because, I just want to get along with him," Danny managed to say, staring intently at the ground as he continued to anxiously move around. "I don't want to fight with him. I never did! I just want him to leave me alone, I want him to be nice to me, I want him to stop messing with my life like it's some messed up chess game that only he can control!"

Danny stopped his pacing and looked at Melody again, shoulders slumped. "I think I'm getting through to him. I think...maybe he's starting to realize that we don't have to fight all the time; that, maybe, we can actually get along back in Amity if we try. If you tell him what I said he'll go right back to hating me like nothing's changed at all..."

The teen trailed off and looked away. There was nothing more he could say.

Though Melody's face had resorted back to being expressionless, there was an understanding sadness she was hiding underneath her blank exterior. All this time she'd thought Danny was just a lazy teenager tagging along with everyone, doing his best to play peace maker because he thought it was his silly duty somehow as a naive superhero. She didn't think he was planning anything or making that big of an effort, but now she saw all the stress he was under. Never once had see seen Danny pace, but now she could almost feel the suppressed anxiety roll off him and crash into her like waves as he walked back and forth.

The fact that he was trying his hardest to get through to his number one nemesis painted the teen in a new light in Melody's eyes. She imaged herself trying to be genuinely nice to the person she most hated. It would be an impossible task for her, yet here Danny was doing it each day. It took a lot of inner strength and stamina to do that. It wasn't something a lazy teen would do, that was for sure.

What mattered the most, though, was the fact that Melody believed what Danny said about Vlad was true. The man was different from the person he was on the first day he arrived at the museum. He was more patient with everyone and tolerant. Sure, they had their rough patches lately, but even Melody could see a small change. Although it didn't mean anything to the girl, she figured it was highly significant to Danny and his life. Her telling anyone what Danny just told her could ruin everything he was working for.

"Look," Melody started with a relenting sigh, "I won't tell him if it means that much to you. I told you a little of my past, and you told me yours. If you don't tell them I'm some dorky hacker with an infatuation with math, I won't tell anyone about your beef with Vlad."

She offered the boy a weak smile as she added, "Besides, this place is so much better when Vlad's in a good mood. What the pompous man doesn't know won't hurt him."

Danny let out an explosive sigh of relief and nodded quickly to what Melody had said. "Yeah, yes," he rapidly agreed, a grateful smile coming to his face as he looked up at the girl. He honestly wished he could hug her at that moment, but he knew from Ryder's experience that that wouldn't end well.

"Thanks, Melody," he said, shoulders sagging further with relief and gratitude. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"Good," Melody said, her iciness returning as she felt the tangles of awkwardness ebb away. She glanced back at the control panel and allowed a sly smile sneak to her lips. "Because now that you know I can be a nerd, I'm free to dismantle that lovely piece of technology over there. We've come this far. I'm not going back to that stupid room until I've seen the first floor."

That said, Melody waltzed up to the control panel and felt around the metal edges. She reached in down under her shirt when she realized what she needed and pulled out a small, mini screwdriver. She smiled a little, as if happy to be back in her natural environment as she went to work on opening the panel.

Though Melody's tone had returned to normal, he could tell something was different between them. It was small and probably unnoticeable to a normal person, but Danny could tell it was there. Like Vlad, he knew Melody had changed being in this museum too. She may not have liked him, but he could tell that she definitely tolerated him. And Danny was definitely okay with that.

Danny arched an eyebrow when he saw Melody pull a screwdriver out of freakin' nowhere. He couldn't help but grin and shake his head as he said, "Where were you even keeping that?" The teen paused as he thought back to the second laundry cart ride he'd been on and the things he'd seen during that time. He held up both hands and quickly added, "Oh...um, never mind."

"Yeah," Melody shot back with a mean smile. "You better never mind, or I'll kick your ass."

After all the screws were undone, Melody pulled them all out and dropped them on the floor before using her fingertips to pull off the metal grading keeping her away from the good stuff. Once that was gone and thrown to the ground, Melody could see all the wiring inside the box and the LED lights that were currently off. The challenge of it all thrilled her.

"Mmm. Goodness gracious. It's been a long time since my last class in electrical engineering, but I think I remember the basics," Melody mused aloud as she reached into her front shorts pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife. She stuffed the screwdriver in her mouth as she flipped the knife open and parted some wires in search for the one she wanted.

With the object in between her teeth, the girl snickered to herself, "An Maffew sad da glass woodt be pragtigal."

"Wait, where did you get the kni- never mind!" Danny stopped himself, shaking his head rapidly as if to ward off his curiosity. He figured that this was the reason the Collector had chosen Melody and Ryder as the two best thieves in the world. Ryder had stolen a book somehow for Vlad, and Melody had stolen...all of this stuff. Who knew what else she had hidden away on her person?

Focusing back on Melody, Danny leaned forward a little, trying to decipher what she'd just said. It kinda sounded important, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. "Uh...yeah, Maffew," he agreed, nodding along like he totally got it. It was then that he realized Melody was messing around with electronics...of an elevator they were stuck in...with no place to go if something went wrong.

Squeezing his hands into anxious fists, Danny couldn't help but question, "You're sure you know what you're doing, right? Like, the lights aren't gonna suddenly go out as we drop to our deaths, right? I mean, I totally trust you, but...you're positive about this?"

Melody glanced over to Danny as if noticing he was there for the first time when he mentioned "Maffew". She hadn't remembered saying that aloud, but she decided he didn't know what he was talking about as she carried on.

She was pretty thankful when he presented her with a new question. Taking the screwdriver out of her mouth, she answered, "Relax, pipsqueak. It's only a few feet of a drop since we're in between the first and second floors. Not like it would kill us."

Finding a wire she liked, the girl quickly looped it around her knife and gave a quick yank to cut the wire. She held onto that wire's end as she peered into the box some more, saying over her shoulder, "Besides, I'm not playing around with that system. It's the doors I'm after. If we can get them open, we might be able to squeeze through to the first floor."

"Oh."

Danny closed his mouth and resisted the urge to jokingly say, _'I know I can fit, but what about your butt?'_ He smirked at the thought and quickly looked at the doors to fight down a laugh. He almost wished Ryder was there at that moment so that he could say it for him, because he knew Melody would totally punch him for even mentioning her butt again. Only Ryder could say things like that and live to tell the tale.

Instead of continuing to think about his internal comment, Danny just grinned and said, "That's a good plan."

"Damn straight," Melody muttered.

For another minute or two she messed around with some more wires until she was satisfied with her progress. Stuffing the screwdriver and knife back where they had come from, Melody told Danny, "Alright, this should be it. When I connect these two wires, the doors should open."

Staring hopefully at the elevator door, Melody connected the wires.

_Ding!_

Accompanied by its obnoxious ring, the doors smoothly parted for the two. Thankfully, the elevator had gone down far enough so that the bottom half of the elevator was only a few feet off the ground.

"That's right! I'm awesome!" Melody celebrated in a excited squeal. Composing herself, she told Danny quickly, "These wires have to be together to keep the door open. You go out first, and I'll follow."

"Right," Danny instantly agreed, smiling wider at the fact that the doors actually opened. And they weren't dead! Always a plus in his book.

The teen didn't hesitate to slid forward and bend down so that he could squeeze himself through the small opening that the doors had made. He just barely managed to fit his shoulders and head between the doors. If he'd been even the smallest amount bigger, he definitely would've gotten stuck.

Danny let out a tense breath when his feet finally touched the first floor, and he was able to slide the rest of the way out of the elevator and into the hallway. Before he could celebrate his victory of being skinny, he froze in place, eyes widening.

"Uh, Melody?" he called back up to the girl, slowly holding his hands up as he flashed a nervous grin. "You might as well stay in that elevator."

"Why?" Melody asked, sounding offended. "Is this another big butt joke? If it is, it's not appreciated, especially considering what I just did."

"Um, no," Danny replied, chuckling despite himself. "But I really wanted to say one a little bit ago, but I totally decided not to just so you know."

The boy focused his attention back on the ring of museum guards that had seemingly been waiting for him right outside the elevators doors. It was safe to say that they did not look pleased.

"So," Danny began conversationally, "who thinks Melody can squeeze through those doors without getting stuck? Keep in mind, she's the one that got stuck in that vent not too long ago."

"Wait, what? Who are you talking to?" Melody shouted as she peered out of the opening. Seeing the display of impassive ghost guards waiting there, Melody grimaced before saying, "Oh. That's who."

Suddenly, the doors to the elevator closed on Melody and the real lights and music came back on as the box she was in finished its journey downward. Upon discovery of the escaped thief and halfa, someone must have told the person in control of the lockdown procedure to to turn the elevator back on.

_Ding!_

Melody cringed as the door reopened for her on ground level. Folding her arms across her chest in her usual pout, Melody walked up to beside Danny and gave the group of guards a frosty glare. She didn't like being played the fool.

"Well, at least we got to the first floor," she muttered.

A/N: Well, hope you readers liked the chapter! Next chapter is one of my very favorites! Can't wait to post it next weekend. I'll see you guys there!


	15. Chapter 15 Consequences

A/N: So this is one of my favorite chapters. It's the start of something sinister. Ha ha! That's all I can say. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters, but the rest are ours.

Previously In The Collector: Since Danny can't draw a map to save his life, him and Melody must escape together this time to get a feel for the rest of the museum. Along the way, they find out that they're on the second floor, Melody is a secret hacker, and that Danny is doing his best to change Vlad into a more tolerant person. All this takes place in an elevator, very much like a bottle episode...except it was more like a bottle chapter.

Chapter 15 Consequences

"Hey, wait a minute, what's going on?"

Vlad, Danny, and Melody all paused and turned their gazes to Ryder before rolling their eyes and looking away. Currently, the four humans were sitting in a small, silent room. They'd each been forced to take a seat at a tiny, round table facing, at the moment, a blank wall.

"Woah, what's this red stuff?" Ryder questioned, staring down at the steel bracelet around his wrist in complete wonderment.

Before the group had been brought there, the bracelets on their wrists had suddenly activated as one. Some sort of red energy had shot from each bracelet and attached to another. This unfortunately forced Melody and Ryder's bracelets to connect, and Vlad and Danny's to interlock together. No matter how hard the group tried to detach themselves from one another, it had ended in nothing but failure and frustration. The red energy buzzing between their bracelets couldn't be disconnected. This meant that each person was forced to sit much closer to their partner than any of them actually wanted.

"Where have you been for the last ten minutes, Ryder?" Danny asked, truly curious as to why it had taken the thief this long to question their predicament.

Ryder's stare drifted upwards, like he was deeply thinking about Danny's question. "...Here?" he finally replied, his voice sounding drowsy and confused. He even let out a yawn and leaned forward onto the table as if he was going to pass out again like he'd been doing for the past three days now.

Danny shook his head slowly and muttered, "I hope they take him off the pain meds soon."

"He was lucid for three whole hours last night," Melody pointed out. "That means they're slowly taking him off the drugs. Still, I wish they'd do it quicker, especially if I'm going to be attached to him like this for longer than an hour."

To indicate her predicament, Melody raised her left arm, bringing Ryder's up with hers since their bracelets were connected. She shook her limb a little, and Ryder's hand followed her movements as if it was a dead fish. With a sigh, Melody dropped her hand and returned to her pouting expression to mask the true anxiety clawing inside her chest. She knew something bad was coming; she just didn't know what it was yet.

Sitting closely beside Danny, Vlad had remained silent ever since coming into the room. Like the others, he was nervous. He suspected what was going to happen next, but he was at a loss when it came down to predicting his group's reaction. He hated not being in control. Having to trust the others to behave smartly was one of the roughest experiences for the man.

"Well, at least he'll be easier to drag around now if he passes out," Danny told Melody, flashing a nervous grin as he did. Joking was really the only way he could keep himself from worrying about what was going to happen to them. The guards that had brought them here hadn't said anything, and they had to have been sitting there alone for four minutes or so now.

Four horribly long minutes.

The smile fell from Danny's face when no one laughed at his comment, and he cleared his throat as he looked down at the table. He shifted in his uncomfortable seat, doing his best not to squirm around too much. He didn't want to annoy Vlad considering how closely he was sitting to him.

Ryder blearily lifted his head up from the table, blinked a few times, and asked with furrowed eyebrows, "I'm on drugs?"

"It's like he's in slow motion or something," Melody sighed irritably. She stared at Ryder as if he was some dumb, innocent puppy she felt sorry for but couldn't really help.

"I believe in the next few minutes, he is going to _want_ to be on the drugs," Vlad grumbled, speaking for the first time.

Danny glanced over at Vlad, looking shocked that the guy had actually decided to say something at last. He'd been worried about the dude for a moment there. "Good thing that's reassuring," the teen sarcastically said in an attempt to hide his unease. He dropped his eyes back to the table, feet moving anxiously beneath him.

He really wished he could just get up and walk around, but he was pretty sure Vlad didn't want to go anywhere at the moment. And if Vlad didn't want to move, there was no way he was gonna move. Swallowing silently, Danny looked up at Vlad. His voice sounded very young as he quietly asked, "What do you think's gonna happen?"

Vlad looked down at Danny for a moment, taking note of the teen's worried expression. Glancing up, the man noticed that Melody was watching him too with the same kind of concern in her gaze, waiting for his answer. Like it or not, the group needed to be prepared for what was to come, but also they needed some encouragement. Oddly enough, it looked like they expected Vlad to be their source.

Adopting an even tone, Vlad told the group, "We pushed our boundaries on our last escape attempt when you two got caught. The Curator warned us to stop trying to escape or there would be repercussions. Obviously, we ignored him, so today we get to find out what the consequences to our actions are. Be prepared for the Curator to get personal. He knows more about us than we want him to, and he's going to use that information to try to manipulate us. He wants to upset all of us, maybe even drive us apart. I'm not sure what his plans are, but it is best to be prepared."

Pausing at the thought of how ridiculous he was going to sound, Vlad timidly gathered the words together before saying, "But it will be alright. The most he can do today is intimidate and threaten. Remember that."

Danny nodded slowly, eyes sliding away from Vlad to stare across the room at the far wall. It was probably obvious that he felt a lot better after hearing what Vlad had to say. He was being honest with them, but not in a jerk-ish way, and he'd actually tried to be encouraging in his own Vlad-style.

To Danny, that was the most reassuring thing he'd seen happen today.

"Right," the teen agreed, continuing to bob his head up and down. "So just stick together and stuff, right? We can do that. That's easy...right."

"Wait, wait," Ryder interrupted Danny's rambling as he shoved his body upright only to slump back in his chair as if his body had no bones in it. "When did I start doing drugs? Why didn't you guys stop me? Do I need an intervention?"

"Seriously, Ryder? You're still on that topic? Do you even know where we are?" Melody asked, leaning over to look into Ryder's face with a look on hers that told Ryder he was retarded.

Vlad shook his head, letting himself express a small smile. Leave it to Ryder to always kill the mood. And like clockwork, Melody had to chime in with her scathing comments. It was a wonder how the pair of thieves hadn't killed each other; then again, the same thing could be said for Vlad and Danny. The entire group was like some dysfunctional clock that ticked to its own, special time, but at least it was operating.

Ryder could only stare back at Melody, the gears in his head visibly turning as he tried to form a response. However, before he could even say anything, the doors to the room opened.

Danny turned in his seat just enough to see that it was the Collector before he quickly spun back around to face straight ahead. It only took one glance to see the barely suppressed fury on the ghost's face. The boy peeked up at Vlad from the corner of his eye, sitting perfectly still in his chair. He feared that making too many quick movements would end badly.

The Curator rounded the table without looking at any of the seated humans, and he came to a stop so that he was standing in front of all of them. One an ordinary day, the ghost appeared poise and very in control of himself, as if nothing in the world or Ghost Zone could touch him, but not today. Today he just looked edgy, and each human knew that couldn't mean good things for them.

"I'm sure you all are wondering why I've brought you here today," the Collector began, voice soft despite the severe expression on his face.

The ghost's dramatic pause was interrupted by Ryder mumbling, "We're in a conference room, Melody...in the museum...in the Ghost Zone."

Grinning sheepishly at the Collector, Melody pointed to Ryder and said innocently, "It's the drugs, sir. They make him slow. Just...um...ignore him." After an awkward silence, she waved her hand, saying, "Go on."

"...Yes," the Collector murmured, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. He shook his head, his confusion immediately being replaced by his earlier frustration. "I have brought you here because, well, it is obvious, isn't it?"

The ghost's eyes zoned in on Danny as he sternly growled, "I told you that you were never going to leave this place, and I meant it." Glowing eyes sliding to the rest of the humans, he continued, "And I have made myself clear on what would happen if these 'escape attempts' persisted. None of you are dense. You all understand what I have implied, and because of this, I have no other choice but to take action."

"What are you gonna do?" Danny demanded, fear and anger mingling in his voice. He was frightened at the prospect of what the Curator could do, but it still infuriated him that the ghost was so blatantly trying to crush their spirit like he was.

The Collector placed his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and said, "We are going to talk." Without hesitating, the ghost pointed at Melody. "Why do you not enjoy it here? _Tell me_."

"Because it's not my home," Melody automatically answered. Though her voice remained calm, her hands balled into tight fists of frustration as she was forced to continue. "Because I miss my friends and family, just to name a few. And it's the _Ghost_ Zone. I'm _not_ a ghost. This isn't where I belong! Don't you get that? How many times do we have to give you the same answer before you believe us?"

"I do believe you," the Collector told her, his tone placating. "I understand that you feel...out of sorts here, but that is simply because you are not giving it a chance."

He looked around the table again, the anger leaving his expression momentarily. "You all have rejected this place from the beginning. I see that now. You overlooked the fact that I brought your own clothes here. I built places for you to live that were nearly similar to what you were used to. I give you nutritious food to keep you healthy and allow you to socialize freely. I even brought the same soap that each of you use in the human world."

"Oh, gross," Danny muttered, pulling a disgusted face at the very intrusive thought. "I didn't even think about that."

The Curator frowned at the teen for a second before dashing the look away and giving a small smile. "I have taken steps to make this place more welcoming for you all. The chess board? The cards? And once I learn how, I will install a television device for you all to watch. This place can be just like your home if you allow it to be that. Don't you understand?"

"Of course we understand that," Vlad spoke up before the others could. His voice was stern as he said, "We understand that you want us to feel comfortable and at home, but the point of the matter is that you can never make us feel at home as long as we are in the Ghost Zone, away from our loved ones, and under your control. We are not puppies who have been placed under a new owner and home and will eventually come to enjoy the new environment. We're human beings with lives that need more than silly games and a TV. We want-. No. We _need_ our freedom and our lives back. That, sir, is something you can not possibly understand."

When the others at the table nodded along to what Vlad had said, the Collector scowled and shoved a hostile forefinger in the man's direction. "_You will be quiet unless I speak to you_," he ordered, tone heavy with anger. "Everything was going perfectly well until you decided to rile everyone up. I know you're the one behind these escapes, Mr. Masters. Do not think I haven't figured that one out."

The room quickly dropped into a hushed silence as the Curator glared around the table of humans, clenching and unclenching his hands at his sides. He appeared to be deeply thinking of something as was apparent by the frown wrinkles making their place known across his pale face. The ghost looked very upset by Vlad's accusations that he didn't understand. That was a concept that deeply infuriated him because he knew...he knew that the halfa was right. He didn't understand. It didn't make sense to him.

"We don't like it here," Ryder was finally able to say as he slouched down even further in his chair, fighting desperately to keep his eyes open. "We-we're never gonna like it here. I...I do drugs now. I didn't do that back home!"

The Collector stared quizzically back at the thief, honestly at a loss for words. "I must speak to the doctor about his medication," the ghost mumbled to himself as he ran a hand across his slicked back hair. Shaking his head quickly, the ghost raised his gaze and glared at the wall behind the humans.

"I will not pretend to understand you humans," he began, the muscles in his jaw standing out as he spoke. "You are strange...different from ghosts. You have made it apparent that your needs are different. I may not understand this concept of...freedom, but I understand this."

The Curator lowered his fierce eyes to each human face as he said, "I know how, and I have the means to make your lives here as unpleasant as I wish them to be. If you despise the situation you find yourselves in, I assure you, I can and I _will_ make it worse if you continue to push me." He glared intensely at Danny and lowered his voice to add, "You have not even begun to see me as the bad guy."

Scowling darkly at the Curator, Vlad concentrated hard on the spell keeping him mute until finally it broke. Leaning forward slightly in his chair, Vlad said with quiet maliciousness, "You are contradicting yourself. You say you understand we have different needs than ghosts, and yet you blatantly disregard those needs when we point them out to you. Stop lying. You don't care about our needs. You simply want us as mindless trophies on display."

Vlad knew he would get punished for his actions, but he wanted the others to clearly see the Collector's error and his true nature. Also, it simply felt good to be right and stand up for it.

Danny stared over at Vlad, eyes wide in surprise and worry. His gaze quickly shot up to the Collector, and he winced at the furious glare he was raining down on Vlad. The teen just knew something bad was going to happen, but he didn't know how he could stop it from happening. He wanted to agree with Vlad, but he knew that wouldn't help anything. All he could do was sit still and wait for the inevitable.

True to Danny's anxieties, the Curator stepped forward so he was closer to Vlad and leaned down so he could clearly see into his eyes. "I warned you, halfa," he snarled, voice barely above a whisper. "Now you will be my first example."

Eyes flashing white with power and control, the Collector hissed, "_Hold your breath, Mr. Masters. And don't you dare breathe until I tell you to_."

Without another word, Vlad took in a small breath before holding it and leaning back in his seat. His narrowed eyes stayed on the Collector, not in the least bit afraid. Pushing his luck, the man even smiled a tad, just to spite the ghost as his lungs quickly began to burn. Gritting his teeth from the pain he knew he couldn't stop, Vlad wondered if the Collector was going to make him pass out or not.

Horrified at what he was witnessing, Danny yelled at the Collector, "C-cut it out! Stop it!"

The ghost's intense gaze flicked over to the teen, but he said nothing. In his mind, there was nothing to say. He wasn't enjoying this, but it needed to be done. He had made a threat, and he had to see it through. He was a man of his word, after all.

"He's gonna pass out!" Danny shouted at the Curator when he received no response. He glared hatefully at the ghost before looking desperately across the table at Melody and Ryder. They were both watching the current scene with wide eyes. Even Ryder looked to be completely aware of the situation.

"Actions have consequences, Mr. Fenton," the Collector stoically replied, narrowed eyes returning their focus back on Vlad. He was going to make the man wait until the last possible moment, to just the point where he thought he couldn't go on any longer. He had read enough books on the subject of the human anatomy to know just how far he could push Vlad without actually harming him, and he intended to do just that.

Vlad knew he was arriving at his limit as sweat began to collect on his forehead and his eyesight faded before darkening. His lungs screamed desperately for air, and yet he couldn't focus through the haze now accumulating in his head to break through the Collector's command. Vlad tilted in his seat, succumbing steadily to the relief of darkness.

"Crap," Danny gasped when Vlad started to slump in his direction. He pressed his hands against the man's arm and side to keep him from falling completely out of the chair, scowling fiercely at the Curator. "Stop it," he snarled with more authority than he actually had at the moment. "Let him breathe, you jerk!"

The ghost merely glanced up at Danny again before focusing back on Vlad. "_Alright, Mr. Masters, breathe_," the Collector murmured, no remorse showing in his tone or on his face. He had deemed that his punishment had gone on long enough. Anymore of it would not only be dangerous but stupid as well.

Air suddenly flooded Vlad's lungs. Gasping sharply, the man sat back up in his seat before leaning forward with his eyes squeezed shut and choking on the sweet, cutting taste of oxygen. His lungs felt like dead rubber balloons inside his chest, and his throat stung as he sucked in air. Trying to calm his breathing down, Vlad ran his free hand through his hair and tried to gather his thoughts back. His punishment had been unpleasant, to say the least.

"That could have been avoided," the Collector said as he stood back up to his full height. There was a distinct knowing edge in his voice, as if he knew everything while the humans at the table had little to no knowledge on anything. "However, if you wish to disrespect me again, I can make this a daily exercise between you and I, Mr. Masters."

The ghost raised a fine eyebrow as he said, "I have read that a human can hold their breath for up to three minutes at a time. Would you like to see if you can match that? I would be more than happy to devote my time to figuring it out if you feel the same curiosity as I do."

"H-hey, back off," Ryder piped up as he shoved himself upright in his chair. His eyes weren't exactly focused, but he was trying to glare in the direction of the Curator. "Leave-leave the Vladster alone. He's always like...like that."

Before the ghost could comment, Danny quickly jumped in with his own angry scowl. "Yeah, and if you're gonna punish Vlad, you'll have to punish the rest of us, too. We all hate it here, Curator." He flashed a tense smirk. "Vlad's just got the biggest mouth to say it."

"Exactly!" Melody piped up. "If you have a beef with Vlad, then you got one with us too."

Looking up with a thin frown on his face, Vlad could hardly believe his ears. All three of them were sticking up for him. While it was all very odd and new, and he didn't quite understand it, Vlad didn't care because a little spark of pride had been ignited inside him. Despite all his worries, the group had taken his advice, kept together, and behaved exactly how they needed to.

Confidence coming back to him, Vlad looked up at the Curator with a calm, knowing smile and shrugged, as if saying the entire ordeal was out of his hands.

The Collector appeared more confused than angry as he looked from one human face to another. He didn't understand this. This just wasn't right. His baffled frown only deepened when he looked at Vlad's smug expression. The halfa was responsible for this somehow; that was the only explanation, but it still didn't make any sense.

"Surely you're joking," the ghost said, directing his statement at Danny. "I have studied you both, and not once have I seen this kind of attitude directed towards one another. What has he done to earn your loyalty? What could he possibly have said that would make you react this way, Mr. Fenton?"

The boy didn't even have time to answer before he looked at the two thieves. "And you, Miss Hart, you have only trusted one person in your life. I have seen it with my own eyes." The ghost's stare turned on Ryder. "You stand up for no one but your own flesh and blood. Why him? He is nothing but a stranger to you."

The Curator shook his head, unable to comprehend this unexpected turn. He had suspected that the humans had formed some sort of bond in their time together, but this went much deeper than simple acquaintances. This was in none of their nature that he had seen up to this point. They were all behaving unnaturally, and the source seemed to be coming from Vlad. It was beyond his comprehension. How and why had this happened?

"People change, Curator," Danny solemnly interrupted the ghost's rapid thoughts. When the teen's eyes connected with the Collector's, he added seriously, "Ghosts don't. You can't understand."

Vlad glanced over to Danny with interest crossing his face. Had he really changed that much? He didn't think he had. Sure, he'd acted a bit nicer around the group and tried his best to lead and tolerate the three, but did that necessarily mean he had changed? The question opened up a whole new dynamic to Vlad's understanding of himself.

Pulling himself out of his own pondering, the man focused back on the matter at hand. He intently watched for the Curator's reaction, wondering if the response would be anger this time around.

"No...no, I don't," the Collector replied, completely shocked that he truly believed that statement. He didn't understand. Once again, the humans had surprised and confused him. Their actions had no logical solution or basis. The ghost shook his head and muttered in wonderment, "You truly are an amazing species."

There was a moment's pause as the Curator straightened out his already perfect suit and cleared his throat. "This meeting is over," he said, waving a hand to the side as he strode over to the doors. He opened them and called for the guards to escort the humans back to their area. Once the order had been given, the Collector stood to the side and watched as his displays were led out of the room.

Only once he was alone did the Collector rub the back of his neck and tiredly stare up at the ceiling. He may have existed for centuries...but there was still so much more for him to learn.

-Few Minutes Later-

"Well," Vlad said as they all sat down with their trays of food for dinner, "that could have gone a lot worse."

"_A lot worse_?" Melody choked out in mid-chew. Swallowing quickly, she said, "I don't know about you, but I'd say that meeting was terrible! He almost made you pass out! You told us he was just going to threaten everyone, not take action and command you to stop breathing! He's freaking crazy!" Picking at her food, Melody glanced back up at Vlad and mumbled, "You're crazy. Why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut?"

"Because I wanted to see how far he would go," Vlad answered seriously. He paused for a moment before adding more quietly, "And it felt like it needed to be said."

"It did need to be said," Danny agreed, his voice firm despite the upset look on his face. He glanced down at his food before pushing the plate away and crossing his arms over the tabletop. There was no way he could eat at the moment. Not after that meeting. Though he was trying his best to hide it, Danny was shaken up by what had happened, and he knew he had every right to be.

Vlad could've gotten himself seriously messed up by pushing the Collector like he'd done. The teen thought that the ghost would never do anything to hurt them, but he'd been sorely mistaken. The Curator would hurt them as long as the damage wasn't permanent. He'd made that point very clear.

Releasing a tense sigh, Danny muttered at Vlad with a half-hearted smile, "You still shouldn't have said it, though."

"C'mon, guys!" Ryder interrupted, sitting ramrod straight in his seat. His eyes were much more focused now, the pain pills finally having worn off so that he could pay attention to the conversation around him. The man pointed at Danny as he said, "You were badass. Like, so seriously badass!" Ryder then turned his pointed finger on Vlad and declared, "You too! It was awesome! Sure, the Collector could have totally almost killed you if he wanted, but he didn't! That's good, right?"

Vlad had been seconds away from taking a bite of food, but what Ryder said made him stop with a frustrated sigh. Throwing down his spoon, the man told the group, "It is not like I did that for the reckless fun of it. I knew what I was doing. I needed to see what the Curator would do, and the only way to do that was to push him hard enough. It was only a test, and it went fine. It was perfect, actually. Now that all of us know the consequences that await us, we'll be better prepared in the future."

Ryder slumped down in his seat after hearing Vlad's tone, eyes dropping to stare forlornly at the table. "It was still badass," he mumbled under his breath.

Danny rolled his eyes at the thief's response before glancing over to Vlad. "I still don't think we know what the consequences are," he told the man, eyebrows furrowing deeply. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think the Collector even knows at this point. He doesn't understand us; he said that himself. That makes him unpredictable. Melody's right. The guy's crazy."

The boy looked away again, thoughtfully staring off into the distance. "And, I think the badass thing was supposed to be a compliment, by the way," Danny added without looking at Vlad.

Sighing heavily, Vlad leaned forward and rested his forehead against his palm as he tried to calmly piece together what he wanted to say. Finally, and without looking up, he said, "Yes, the Curator might be crazy, but that doesn't make him unpredictable. What he recently did to me will be the kind of punishment he will inflict on us until he realizes it's not working. When that happens, he'll change tactics. That much we understand and know."

"And what will he do once he changes his tactic?" Melody asked cooly.

Looking up, Vlad answered, "That's what we need to find out. Soon. The Curator and his museum can be figured out. Once we know how it all works, we will be able to escape. We need to understand this place and its owner before the Curator starts to understand us; because once he does know us for who we truly are, he's going to want to stop us by any means necessary."

"Man, I don't even want to know what punishments he has planned," Danny said, hunching his shoulders to hide a shudder. "He gives me the creeps. Especially after that..." The teen shook his head and cleared his throat. "But you're right, Vlad. The only way to figure this place out is to keep doing what we've been doing. Except...y'know, better...yeah."

Ryder nodded and peeked up at the half-ghosts across the table from him. "We can do that," he quietly agreed. "I'm not scared."

Face impassive, Vlad studied each person at the table while in deep thought. He was pleasantly surprised for a second time that day. They were actually listening to him and taking what he was saying seriously, not fighting and debating him like children. Since when had they started to respect him? He wasn't quite sure, but Vlad wasn't complaining. If anything, he felt a little relieved.

Picking up his spoon again with a small, satisfied smile, Vlad told Ryder, "Well, you properly showed that at the meeting. After what the three of you did in the meeting today, I'm sure the Curator will be scratching his head for a while in confusion."

Grinning at the praise, Ryder quickly sat back up. "Heck yeah!" he exclaimed, sounding like his old self for the first time in a while. "Nothing scares me...Except, well, that one thing, but that's it!" The thief paused, bringing his good hand up to rub at his chin. "That and sharks. Jaws is the scariest movie ever."

Danny shook his head and smirked. "The Collector's not the only one scratching his head," he joked, chuckling softly as he did.

"Yeah," Melody agreed, shooting Ryder a weird look. Looking down at her food, she said seriously, "Besides, sharks are greatly misunderstood creatures."

Ryder turned his head and gave Melody an equally weird look as if she'd just sprouted a set of antlers. "Are you insane?" he said, sounding truly and deeply shocked. "One almost ate me! That's not misunderstood! And their eyes are soulless! Have you ever looked into a shark's eyes? Soulless!"

"Whoa, wait," Danny butted in, shaking his head slowly. "When did you almost get eaten by a shark?"

The thief's attention diverted onto Danny, and his grin widened as if he was highly satisfied that someone had asked him that question. "I had to steal this rare, prized fish from an aquarium once," he began, lowering his voice to make everything sound more intense. "Back in my younger days...Anyway! I had to put on all this scuba gear, right? So that I could get in this huge tank and go find the fish, but I ended up getting in the wrong one the first time." He rolled his eyes. "Stupid signs. I swear, I hate Polish. Everything always looks the same."

Ryder quickly spun back to face Melody as he shouted, "And that's when I was almost shark bait!"

Melody rolled her eyes, sighing dismissively. "If you hadn't gone and bothered the sharks in the first place, they wouldn't have attacked you," she told him condescendingly. "And they don't have soulless eyes. Just whenever they go for the killing strike, their eyes roll back into their head so it looks like they have black eyes."

"You have a rather odd fascination with sharks," Vlad pointed out with a small smirk.

Melody paused with her spoon in her mouth, just then realizing how nerdy and weird she must have sounded. Shifting her gaze nervously, she slowly took the spoon out of her mouth and muttered, "So I watched Shark Week with my little brother last year. It's not like I'm in love with the creatures or anything. Gawd."

"Yeah, whatever, Shark Whisperer," Ryder shot back, grinning widely at his clever remark. "You'll be thinking how misunderstood they are when one's gnawing on your leg."

Danny smiled at the exchange between the two thieves, happy to see them both returning to their natural ways. It had been so weird not being able to see Melody and Ryder fighting the past couple days. Now everything felt like it was starting to return to normal.

"I didn't know you had a brother," Danny said as he leaned his elbows on the table. He tilted his head to the side and asked, "How old is he?"

"Um," Melody said, looking up when trying to remember. It had been a long time since she'd been to one of his birthdays. "He's like 15 or 16 now, I think. About your age." Shaking her head, the girl smiled at a joke only she seemed to know. "He's a little turd ball," she said at last, as if that would be sufficient amount of information.

Danny smiled as well, understanding exactly where she was coming from. "That sounds like something my sister would say," he said. "She's such a know-it-all. A spazzy know-it-all."

The teen shook his head and grinned at Melody as he told her teasingly, "I bet you two would get along great."

Giving Danny a frosty smile, Melody shot back without skipping a beat, "Oh, I'm sure. And I think you'd get along great with my little brother. If you stick two turd balls together, I'm sure you couldn't tell the difference between them."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Danny replied, his grin not diminishing in the least. He was more than happy to join in the light-hearted banter with Melody. It was so much better than actually arguing and, not to mention, a good way to take his mind off the meeting. Also, Melody had just willingly told him something about herself like she'd done in the elevator. That alone was enough to put a smile on his face.

"What about you, Ryder?" Danny asked as he turned his eyes to the thief. "Got any siblings?"

Ryder crossed his arm over his chest and scoffed theatrically at the question. "As if the world could handle more than one Walker!" His serious expression cracked as he smiled. "Sorry, I'm the one and only. I always wanted a brother, though. That would've been cool!"

"I can see the chaos now," Danny droned, laughing softly under his breath. His chuckles slowly stopped as he thought of something. The teen glanced up at Vlad, opened his mouth to ask him the same thing he'd just asked Ryder before quickly shutting it again and looking away. He was still anxious to ask Vlad too much about his personal life.

Vlad glanced down when Danny suddenly became quiet, catching the teen in the act of shutting his mouth and looking way as if deciding against something. Ever since their promise to tolerate each other more, Vlad had noticed recently how seriously Danny was toward keeping that vow. At times it was pretty refreshing, but other instances, like the current one, made him look pretty silly. Still, Vlad knew the teen meant well.

Keeping Danny in the corner of his vision, Vlad casually said, "I don't have any sibling too. One child was more than enough for my parents."

Danny's eyes widened in surprise when Vlad answered the question he hadn't even asked. He looked back up at the man, his shock clearly written across his face before he smiled slightly. He knew that Vlad would have never ever told him that back in Amity. It only managed to convince him more that things really were changing between them.

"Preach, man," Ryder said, shaking his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "Mine couldn't even handle one."

With his mouth full, Vlad nodded in understanding. Swallowing he said, "Exactly. Which I find a little fascinating due to the fact that I lived at a boarding school for most of my troublesome, teenage years they complained so heavily about."

"Psshh. Boarding school. What a joke," Melody said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Weren't those delightful years? But I totally know what you mean. It was like you spent most of your life out of their hair and living your own life which they never bothered to truly care about, and the second you come back home for the summer, they blame the relationship troubles in the family on you for not taking an interest in their lives."

"Mmm. Dreadful," Vlad said with a sly smile.

"Oh, don't you get all sarcastic with me," Melody said in a pretend huff. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't try to deny it, Batman."

Shaking his head in amusement, Vlad took another bite of his food before glancing at Danny again. He seemed a little shocked by Vlad's revealing of his life, which Vlad found odd. The information he'd just given was something both his parents knew very well, so he assumed Danny knew it too. On second thought, though, maybe Danny hadn't bothered to ask his parents about Vlad's past. Or maybe it was the fact that he shared something in the first place. Once that thought came to mind, Vlad could understand the teen's surprise. Vlad himself wasn't quite sure why he had said it.

"Boarding school doesn't sound so bad," Ryder interjected, eyes still focused off on a scene only he could see. "At least that meant they cared a little, right?"

Hesitantly, Danny turned his focus onto Ryder, a frown creasing his features as he noticed the thoughtful look on Ryder's face. "Where'd you grow up, Ryder?" he quietly asked, uncertain if it was okay to pry. This was the first time any of them had actually sat down and discussed anything like this before. He didn't want to ruin what they had going.

"Everywhere," Ryder answered blandly. His eyes finally came back into focus, and he propped his elbow on the table before leaning his cheek against his fist. "Different place every year; sometimes only a few months. I don't care what you say about boarding schools. It's gotta be better than foster care."

"Oh," was all Melody could say, her smile vanishing along with Vlad's. They picked at their food in an awkward silence for a few seconds, no one knowing exactly what to say to bring back the old, light mood. Finally, Melody offered Ryder a timid smile as she leaned against his shoulder and said, "Yep. You win. Foster care, I'm sure, is the worst. None of us can even compete anymore."

Ryder glanced over at her and replied with a smirk, "Yeah, I knew that." He shook his head and laughed. "There's always someone whose got it worse than you. That's what I always say." The thief shrugged as if that could rid his mind of his past memories. "It wasn't all bad. There was that one couple that were artists in Chicago when I was fifteen. They were alright, and they pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. Then I got stuck with this family of twelve in Hawaii when I was ten. I just hung out on the beach all the time. I swear, if it's possible, I got blacker."

"What happened to your real parents?" Danny tentatively asked. He knew Ryder liked to talk, and he seemed pretty open about the current subject so he figured it couldn't hurt. Besides, the thief's life just seemed so bizarre and interesting.

Ryder leaned his cheek further against his fist and pursed his lips. "They left me at the mall when I was four," he said, voice suspiciously lacking any sort of emotion. "In the toy department, of course. Took me a while to figure out that they weren't coming back. Someone called the cops, and I got a one-way ticket to foster care. See, I was a cute kid. Probably why so many people wanted to foster me...then they got to know me." Ryder flashed a grin as he remembered his past. "Once I got bored of one place, I made sure my foster parents had enough of me and shoved me off to the next family." He shrugged again and looked off to the side. "As far as I'm concerned, my parents did me a favor. I wouldn't be near as fantastic if I'd stuck with them all my life."

Melody gave a giggle around her mouthful of food. Swallowing, she said, "Well, obviously."

Staring down at his tray, Vlad wondered how someone with such a hard past full of abandonment and loneliness could be so optimistic about everything. Then again, Ryder could be faking the emotion, but Vlad wasn't quite sure. Ryder was an odd one, and his optimism always abounded. It was in the man's very nature.

Danny's thought were along the same lines as Vlad's. Hearing Ryder's past really made him appreciate his own family. Sure, his parents may not have been perfect, but at least they were there. The teen glanced up at the adults around him, silently observing each of their faces. From what he could see, each one of them seemed to have parent issues. So maybe that was just normal. Maybe being a parent wasn't about being perfect; it was just about being present and caring about your kids lives.

The teen looked down at his plate and pushed some mush around with his spoon. He was still curious about Ryder's past, but he didn't want to question the man any further. No matter how weirdly happy Ryder was, Danny didn't think it could be fun to relive those memories.

"So..." Danny looked up, raising an eyebrow curiously. "How'd you two become thieves anyway?"

At this question, Vlad looked up from his meal to observe the thieves' reactions. He noticed that Melody's frosty barrier had instantly been rebuilt as she pretended to casually chew her food. He could only assume she was going through all her options on how she was going to answer the question. Eventually she picked her safest answer and went with it.

"Well," she started, "it started as just a simple idea when I was like 14 and working part time at some burger joint over the summer because my parents thought I needed to build 'character' by serving large amounts of greasy food to fat people for minimum wage. I specifically thought that there had to be another way for a girl my age and intellect to get rich that didn't involve drugs, prostitution, or something as equally gross. In the end, my only solution was being a thief." She flashed the group a bright, cheery grin. "The end."

"I believe Danny's question was designed for you to answer with the method you used to steal, not your painfully obvious (and might I add petty) philosophical reasoning," Vlad told Melody with a sly grin.

A resolute frown came to Melody's face. "Fine," she said. "I stole money from banks. Is this interrogation over now?"

"I didn't ask a single question," Vlad pointed out with a shrug. Satisfied with Melody's answer, the man turned to Ryder and asked, "And you, Mr. Walker?"

Ryder straightened up from his thoughtful position and smiled brightly back at Vlad as if he'd just given him the best compliment in the universe. "Here we go," Danny droned with a smile as he placed his elbows on the table and got comfortable. Vlad had just given Ryder an opportunity to tell a story. They were gonna be there for a while.

"Well, it all started when I was 17," Ryder began, smiling and bobbing his head as he tapped his fingers against the table. He paused before adding, "Well, technically, it began when I was born, but technically, _technically_, I started stealing professionally when I was 17. But, yeah, so I was 17, and I had to go on this stupid field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Y'know, the one with the steps Rocky ran up? That one. And, I mean, I didn't really want to be there in the first place. School...let's just say wasn't my thing. It wasn't like it was hard or anything, I just didn't see the point."

Ryder frowned softly as he continued, "I was almost 18, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I had five months to figure it out before my foster family at the time kicked me out. Once you're 18, that's it. Goodbye home. I wasn't going to college, neither." The thief rolled his eyes and made a scoffing sound. "What a waste of time. Couldn't pay for it, anyway."

The man shook his head and leaned forward as if getting himself back on track. "So there I was. Tagging along with all the classmates I didn't care about on this dumb field trip I didn't want to be on when I saw it..."

"Saw what?" Danny questioned, honestly curious. Ryder really was the best at telling stories.

Grinning, Ryder spread his hand as he breathed, "The very first thing I was going to steal. It was this Jade egg from the Ming Dynasty. Most amazing thing I've ever seen." The man waved his hand as he explained, "It was perfectly crafted; the surface completely smooth, and it had all these emeralds embroidered into it. Incredible."

Danny was almost positive that Ryder's current expression matched his younger self's as he continued the story. "Once I saw it...I knew that I was gonna take it. I'd always stolen stuff in the past, but nothing like that. At that moment, though...I wanted that egg more than anything else in the world."

Ryder tilted back in his seat and placed his hand behind his head. "So I did. Turns out, I had a natural talent. All I needed was a rope, glass cutter, cherrybomb, and a mask. I bet those guards are still wondering what happened! Ha!" He laughed loudly, smiling bigger than he ever had before. Once he'd calmed himself he finished by saying, "I got the egg, researched its price, found a buyer, and boom." The thief snapped his fingers. "I was in business."

He chuckled and grinned. "The rest is history."

The table was quiet for a moment as they all digested Ryder's last colorfully epic story. Melody nodded as she ate, as if agreeing with or understanding what Ryder had just said. At last, she put down her spoon, gave Danny and Vlad keen stares, and asked with an incline of her head, "So how did you two become all...," she threw up a hand to indicate them as she thought of the right words, "part ghost and stuff? We told you guys our origin stories, now let's hear yours."

"Yeah!" Ryder instantly agreed. "I mean, you guys probably suck at telling stories compared to me, but I still wanna hear!"

Danny sent a mock glare in Ryder's direction before glancing up at Vlad. He wasn't planning on asking for permission to tell his own story, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to check. From the guy's expression, he didn't seem so forthcoming, but Danny decided to go ahead and tell it anyway.

"Well," the teen began, eyes sliding to the side. "My parents were building this machine called the Ghost Portal. It's like a portal that leads here. They, uh, they built one before..." Danny shot another short look at Vlad before quickly moving on. "The Collector probably had to come through that portal to get to the human world in the first place. Well, through the Fenton Portal or Vlad's. I wouldn't know."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, feeling slightly uncomfortable with having to explain how he gained his powers. "Basically, when my parents first built it, they thought it didn't work. And, well, they looked really upset because they'd been working really hard on it so...I figured I'd try and fix it." He smiled a little and shook his head. "Turns out, the Portal did work. It was just turned off. When I turned it on, uh, I think I basically half-died."

"How can you only half die?" Ryder interrupted, tilting his head curiously to the side. "I didn't think it worked like that."

"I dunno anymore than you do," Danny responded, tossing his hands in the air. "All I know is I'm not completely dead and when I first woke up I had ghost powers."

"It is a genetic thing," Vlad suddenly cut into the conversation. The man's tone suggested he wasn't entirely engaged with the people around him, but that he was in some other, more scientific world. He didn't look at anyone as he explained, "To put it in simple terms: just as you were dying from the electrocution, ghost genes fused with your human ones because of the portal. To keep your human half alive, your body instantly and instinctively transformed into your ghost form for your protection."

When Vlad was met with a silent table as a response, he dared to look at the group with a stony expression. He just then realized how much he had shared, and he didn't know exactly why he'd done so. Naturally, Vlad wasn't too thrilled to go on, but he knew it must be done. Vlad knew he had to put in some effort if this group was going to work, and a lot of that effort included sharing some of his past.

"In my case," Vlad continued emotionlessly, "the genes fused, but it took some months for my ghost form to become complete, because, unlike Danny, I hadn't accidentally killed myself. My transformation wasn't forced. Nevertheless, in the end, the results were the same."

Ryder was the first to recover from the overdose of scientific knowledge that had been dumped onto the table. Shaking his head, the thief said with a grin, "Wow, you really _are_ a nerd."

A/N: Oh, Ryder. You will never cease to amuse me. Ha ha! Anyways, since I skipped last weekend, I'm just gonna post two times this weekend as well. So I'll post on Sunday or Monday. See you readers then!


	16. Chapter 16 Fears, Fedoras, and Frustrati

A/N: Alright, this chapter is like...super long. Not kidding. I was tempted to shorten it, but you guys deserve a good, long chapter. To shorten it would take away from the loads of fun that is packed into this one. So you readers enjoy every last bit of it!

Disclaimer: All Danny Phantom characters belong to Nick and Butch Hartman. Everything else belongs to ML and I.

Previously In The Collector: Pushing their luck, the humans learn that trying to escape will now have painful consequences from the Collector. The ghost demonstrated this by almost making Vlad pass out. Despite these warnings, our dysfunctional but lovable group decide to stick together no matter what to escape.

Chapter 16 Fears, Fedoras, and Frustrations

For once, Vlad had the cabin to himself, and he was using that time very wisely to take a nap. This endeavor was easier said than done, though. With his head constantly filled with former memories of a past he'd rather forget, Vlad's sleeping schedule had been reduced to nothing for the past few weeks. Although he hid the effects when he was with the others, Vlad couldn't deny the fact that his body was beyond exhausted from the lack of sleep.

Releasing a slow, steady sigh, Vlad focused on emptying his mind and calming his body down. He was happy to note that he felt rather relaxed. It helped that Ryder wasn't snoring like a freight train beside him or that Danny wasn't tossing and turning above him. The world was silent, and for once Vlad was very grateful for this. Ever since his capture, any second of private, peaceful silence was highly appreciated.

At last, Vlad drifted off into a light, blissful sleep.

About ten seconds later, Vlad felt something poke him in the rib. This was promptly followed by a soft, recognizable voice whispering in his ear, "Vlad. Psst, Vlad..._Vlaaaaad_, I gotta tell you something. It's really, really, important, and I'm like super creeped out right now."

There was a moment's pause as Ryder bounced up and down beside Vlad's bed, biting down on his bottom lip anxiously. "Vlad, Vlad, Vlad," he whined. "Seriously. Wake up, please!"

_Ignore him, and he will eventually go away_, Vlad thought, trying not to frown in annoyance. The man was seconds away from committing to this mission when logic came a squashed his argument.

_On second thought,_ Vlad thought with an inward sigh, _This is Ryder. Ryder is clearly known to never cease being obnoxious, loud, and needy. Which has been proven even when his body is pumped with enough pain killers to kill a cow. It is better to stop him now before he hurts himself._

Opening his eyes to glare up at the bed above him, Vlad growled out, "What do you want, Mr. Walker?"

"Why do you always call me Mr. Walker when you look mad?" Ryder questioned, pointing down at Vlad as he held both of his hands up defensively. His sling had been removed the day before, giving him back full use of both his arms. A fact he was very ecstatic about, to say the least.

Shaking his head quickly, the thief tossed his arms out to the sides and exclaimed, "Never mind! I need help, Vlad! I think another ghost is trying to kill me! It keeps following me around and talking about stuff that I don't even know what its talking about! Please, make it go away! I don't wanna be on drugs again! I've been clean for like twenty hours now!"

"You follow me around and talk about things I don't understand, but you don't see me seeking help," Vlad grumbled under his breath as he raised a hand to rub his forehead in aggravation. Pausing, he asked Ryder in perplexity, "How does this ghost stalking you coincide with the drugs you were on?"

Ryder anxiously tapped his fingers against each other in front of his chest as he glanced over his shoulder, as if frightened that the ghost was coming for him at any moment. "'Cause I think I talked to it when I was on the drugs, but I can't remember," he answered quickly. "I can't remember _anything_ from last week. The first thing I do remember is that meeting with the Collector. That's it. Everything else is just gone! I don't even know why the Collector was so mad in the first place, really. I mean, I got beat up. That's not that big a deal. If he knows me, he's gotta know that's not anything new."

The thief visibly chewed on his tongue in a worried manner and rapidly added, "An' I don't wanna get beat up again and put back on drugs. You're tough and you saved my butt before! Can you just make it leave me alone?" Ryder's face quickly took on the look that rivaled any pathetic puppy's as he murmured, "Please, Vlad?"

_Now this is odd_, Vlad thought as he slowly sat up in his bed, momentarily ignoring the miserable and deploring Ryder. Vlad specifically remembered the Collector using his power to command the other ghosts not to physically harm the humans. That meant that this ghost that Ryder was talking about was either going against these rules completely, which was very unlikely, or was behaving outside of the Collector's order's jurisdiction and had somehow found a way around the command's power. It had found a loophole, in other words. This is what interested Vlad.

Looking down at Ryder, Vlad seemed to be seeing him for the first time. He noticed how worried and unsure the man was behaving. Ryder was a guy who prided himself and enjoyed life by brashly walking into every situation with large amounts of confidence and charisma. Sure, he had his down moments, but Vlad knew Ryder well enough by then to know that not very many things or people stressed Ryder out to the point he was now. Him coming to Vlad for help wasn't a natural thing. He really wanted some serious help, and it just so happened that Vlad was the logical person to come to.

Summoning a grim smile, Vlad told the man with a submissive sigh, "I'll help you, Mr. Walker." He let a sly smile come to his lips as he added, "But only because nobody wants to see you on drugs again."

"Yes! That's exactly what I was thinking!" Ryder exclaimed as he pointed dramatically back at Vlad. He grabbed the man's arm and pulled him out of his bed before he had a chance to change his mind. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," the thief rapidly babbled, somehow managing to drag the much taller man towards the door with relative ease. "Like, I totally knew you were gonna help 'cause being scary is what you're good at. But I was just worried that you wouldn't 'cause you were sleeping and Melody told me not to bother you, but I knew you'd help! I was so right!"

Ryder's anxious rambling slowed as he stopped just before leaving the cabin. That was when he glanced uncertainly up at Vlad and murmured, "I think it's out there. Can you look? I don't wanna look. I might get punched in the face again...not that I'm scared or anything 'cause I'm not."

As gently as possible in his agitated state, Vlad yanked himself out of Ryder's surprisingly firm grasp and straightened out his shirt with a thin frown. While he would have liked to have changed his mind about the entire endeavor, Vlad knew he'd already committed. There would be no napping until the problem was taken care of.

Shooting Ryder a doubtful look, Vlad turned intangible and phased his head through the door to check if Ryder's mysterious stalker ghost was there. Sure enough, a ghost was there. He was waltzing around in loose circles without any direction in mind, as if he was waiting for Ryder to come back out.

The ghost was a fit older man with lots of smile wrinkles around his eyes. His ghostly form was very faded and blurry around the edges, as if the apparition was moments away from vanishing altogether. Although the ghost's appearance was old, his sharp brown eyes shined with inner, child-like amusement as he played with a small red rubber ball by throwing it in the air. Vlad watched in slight surprise as the ball suddenly changed sizes as it fell back to the the ghost's hands. One time it grew in size; another it shrunk to the size of a marble.

Pulling his head back into the cabin, Vlad turned his stare back onto Ryder and pointed out as graciously as he could, "He doesn't look very formidable."

"It's probably all apart of his disguise," Ryder instantly replied, his anxiety clear on his face. He shifted from foot to foot, staring at the door like it was going to be kicked down at any second. "He wants to lure me in so he can get me! Did you see what he could do? The shrinky-growy thing? That's not right at all!"

Hearing this, Vlad gave Ryder a reproachful look. Not very many humans understood that not all ghosts were evil, vicious beings out to hurt or destroy everyone. Actually, most ghosts were simple-minded, without any malicious goals at all. On the other hand, Ryder's brutal experience with the multiplying ghost had been traumatizing. Vlad guessed that of all people, Ryder had a right to be suspicious.

"Have you talked to him yet?" Vlad asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"No! Of course not!" Ryder practically yelled back at Vlad. "The last time I talked to a ghost, you know what happened! No!" He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the floor, blowing out a heavy breath that shook his entire lanky frame. There was no way he was going to admit that his very small list of fears had grown thanks to his experience with the ghost that beat him. He was supposed to be fearless, but this stupid museum was really crushing his image and how he thought of himself. Ryder really hated it.

"He was talking to me, but I wasn't listening," the thief unwillingly added without raising his eyes. "I guess he didn't sound mean..."

"That's it," Vlad decided after glancing back at the door. "We're going out there to talk to him." Grabbing the door's handle, Vlad said firmly, "Let's go and get this over with quickly."

Ryder's eyes were as wide as hubcaps. "W-what?" he stammered, staring up at Vlad in complete and utter disbelief. He'd caught on rather quickly that 'we' didn't mean just Vlad alone. It meant _him_ and Vlad. The man shook his head, saying, "No, no, I don't wanna go. That's not fair. He's gonna try and beat me up! I know it! I'm not going!"

Ryder took a step back from Vlad, his eyes shifting nervously around the room, searching for a place to hide. He did not like the look on Vlad's face. He looked like he was about to do something mean. Shaking his head again, Ryder backed further away from Vlad, looking seconds away from running away as fast as he could.

Crossing his arms across his chest, Vlad raised an eyebrow at the thief. A wry, secretive smile crossed his lips as he assessed the situation. The thief and halfa shared a brief stare with each other; horrible realization coming over Ryder's face as Vlad's smile grew.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Vlad attacked. He lunged forward, grabbed Ryder by the front of his shirt with one hand, opened the door to the cabin with his other, yanked the protesting man forward, and proceeded to shove him out of the building with all the gentleness of a chainsaw.

"You came to me for help, and I'm determined to do just that," Vlad said with caustic amusement as his tone. Grabbing Ryder again by his shirt before he could run away, Vlad started to walk over to the ghost, his grin never leaving his face.

"No! Guh! This isn't funny! Stop!" Ryder yelled, squirming violently as he tried to pull himself out of Vlad's grip. This was most certainly a useless endeavor, but he couldn't stop himself from trying. At the very least, though, the thief was happy the back of his shirt was what was being grabbed instead of the hair he didn't have. This was uncomfortable, but it wasn't as painful as it could've been.

Ryder tried digging his feet in to stop Vlad from walking, but that didn't work. Then, he tried pulling the man's super strong hand from the fabric of his shirt, but that didn't work, either. It wasn't fair that Vlad was taller and stronger than him. Not fair at all.

From their seated place at a picnic table, Melody looked up from her blackjack game with Danny and watched with a bland expression as Vlad continued to drag the unfortunate Ryder over to a ghost by the boys cabin. She was kind of surprised that Vlad had even responded to whatever Ryder's request had been, and she could see the way he was going about it was unorthodox. Despite Ryder's obvious discomfort, though, she couldn't bring herself to investigate.

Returning his gaze to her cards, Melody said to Danny, "Don't look now, but I think the our two lovable morons are bonding."

Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, Danny looked away from the game, following Melody's gaze to see the two men. It was apparent that whatever was happening was amusing Vlad and tormenting Ryder...which was probably why Vlad looked so happy.

"Huh," Danny commented, raising an eyebrow. Ordinarily, he would've gotten involved, but he knew that no matter how annoyed Vlad could get at Ryder, he'd never actually hurt the guy on purpose. And, not to mention, he preferred to avoid Vlad whenever he was smiling for no apparent reason.

Turning his focus back on the game he was totally sucking at, Danny added, "I think I'll let Vlad handle this one today. Let's both just pretend that they're actually bonding and leave it at that."

Meanwhile, Vlad and Ryder had arrived close enough to the ghost playing with the ball. Catching the ball one last time, the ghost looked up at the pair. A big, bright smile came to the ghost's face, pronouncing all his wrinkles as his eyes fell on Ryder.

Completely ignoring Vlad's presence, the ghost threw his arms out to the side in his excitement, exclaiming joyfully, "Ryder! You're back!"

Ryder's immense horror was written plainly across his face as he stared back at the grinning ghost. His struggling halted as he realized Vlad was just gonna make him stand there and die. Asking him for help was worse than not asking him for help in the first place!

"Don't-don't hit me in the face. Anywhere but the face, please! I just started seeing out of my right eye yesterday," Ryder pleaded, covering his face with both his arms just in case the ghost ignored his request and hit him anyway.

The ghost looked confused for a moment as his arms slowly returned to his sides. "Is this another game?" he asked at last, a hopeful smile coming to his lips. "If it is, you'll have to tell me the rules first."

Sighing as he came to a logical conclusion in his head, Vlad lightly shook Ryder by the shoulder. Pointing to the ghost, Vlad told the thief, "Look. This ghost is harmless. If he wanted to punch you, he would have tried to by now. Besides, it's not like he can actually harm you. The Collector ordered with his power for all the ghosts to leave the humans alone. You're not going to get hurt again by them any time soon. Therefore, your fear for this ghost is unjustified."

Looking back up at the ghost, Vlad said with uncertainly, "Oddly enough, I think you made friends with this ghost when you were on the medication."

Peeking up at Vlad from beneath his arm barrier, Ryder mumbled, "But I don't remember anything." Still shaking slightly, he slowly lowered his arms, hands nervously squeezing into and out of fists. He still wanted to run away, but, instead, he opted for hiding behind Vlad.

Ryder still didn't believe that the ghost wasn't going to hurt him. No one had ever willingly tried to play a game with him before, and he didn't trust the ghosts anymore. Not after what had happened. Although Ryder did trust Vlad, he just didn't trust the fact that this ghost wasn't out to get him.

"Oh, are you trying to play hide-and-go-seek?" the ghost asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity as he clasped his fingers together.

Trying to pull Ryder out from behind him so the man could finally face his fears, Vlad said irritably, "No. He's not playing anything right now. We're here to ask you questions."

"Oh dear, Ryder," the ghost said with a little smile, acting as if Vlad hadn't said a word. "You're not very good at this game, are you?"

Whining softly, Ryder tried his best to stay hidden behind Vlad as he yelped out indignantly, "I'm great at hide-and-seek! The best ever! That's what I'm good at!" The thief cringed as Vlad forced him back out into the open thanks to the hold on the back of his shirt.

"Let go, let go," Ryder begged Vlad, continuing to squirm and struggle in the man's grip. "This isn't fun. I don't wanna play any games!"

Vlad rolled his eyes at Ryder's overdramatic response. He could swear that Ryder acted more like a child than Danny did half the time. "If I let you go, you will run away," Vlad told Ryder as if he a parent explaining something big in simple terms for a kid. "And then we will get nothing accomplished. Now, this ghost seems friendly enough, and his power is an unusual one that could be useful. Since the ghost doesn't seem to be responding to me, you'll have to ask him about it. That doesn't sound too hard, right?" Vlad gave Ryder a grim, reassuring smile as he nodded toward the ghost.

Ryder looked back up at Vlad, not feeling reassured by his creepy smile in the least. It was that smile he gave when he was trying really hard not to hurt someone and fighting to keep his eye from twitching.

"I'm not talking to him," the thief replied bluntly, his expression caught in his signature pout.

Vlad's smile vanished almost instantly. If that was the way Ryder was going to play, then Vlad was prepared to be just as stubborn. He had an escape idea forming in his head, and he wasn't about to let Ryder's recent fear of getting punched by ghosts from stopping him from discovering new information.

On his last strand of patience, Vlad yanked Ryder closer so he could whisper into his ear, "This ghost's power to shrink things could enable us to escape. I need to know the extent of his powers, and you're the only one he will talk to. I'll be here the entire time. If it looks like he is going to hurt you, I will intervene." Vlad paused, wrestling momentarily with himself before saying begrudgingly, "Please, Ryder. Just talk to him."

Ryder didn't say anything for a few moments. He seemed to be struggling with his confusion and surprise at hearing Vlad actually say the word 'please' for the first time ever, and his fear and uncertainty about confronting the ghost that he still didn't trust.

Finally, the thief unwillingly nodded and muttered, "_Fiiine_." Ryder raised his eyebrows hopefully as he looked up at Vlad and asked, "Can you let me go then if I do?"

Vlad's smile returned. "No," he answered in a polite voice before looking over to the old ghost before them. It had returned to playing with its ball, bouncing the toy this time against the floor and changing its size over and over again. Thrusting his head toward the ghost, Vlad told Ryder, "Go ahead."

Sighing from deep within his soul, Ryder turned his eyes over to the ghost. His shoulders were slumped, and his hands hung down by his thighs as he dropped his gaze to stare forlornly at the ground. He looked like a kindergardener that had gotten caught stealing someone else's toy.

"Mister...ghost person...guy," Ryder called without raising his head. The last thing he wanted was to actually look at the older ghost. The thief paused when he realized something, and he curiously asked, still scrutinizing the ground, "What's your name, anyway? You...you have a name, right?"

As if a light bulb had gone off inside the ghost's head, the ghost gave a happy smile and exclaimed, "Oh! I believe I know this game! It's when you pretend to have lost your memory and I must help you remember. Oh my, Ryder. You do know how to have a fun time."

"Indeed," Vlad drawled sarcastically.

With a soft, little chuckle of excitement, the old ghost prepared himself for a moment before saying, "Alright. Let me see. My name is Charles, and...and we're in a wonderful museum! Is that good?"

Cringing from discomfort, Ryder muttered, "Yeah, that's great, Chuck." He narrowed his eyes nervously as he slowly raised his head to look at the ghost. The moment he made eye contact, he lost his nerve and tried one last time to squirm his way out of Vlad's hold.

When his escape attempt failed, Ryder groaned in vexation and slouched his posture again, trying his best to appear as pathetic as possible. He knew that if this was anyone else, this game would be fun, but this was a ghost. Ryder didn't like ghosts anymore. So this was basically torture to him.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Ryder blurted as quickly as he could, "How's your power work?"

"Way to be forthright," Vlad grumbled.

Despite Vlad's withering comments, Charles didn't seem to hear a word the man said. Instead, his sole attention was on Ryder as he nodded and smiled, taking his time to come up with his answer. All the while he muttered quietly to himself, "Yes. Oh, yes. My power."

Finally, Charles looked back up at Ryder and answered, "My power is why I'm here and so well cared for. I have the ability to change the size of any object. The object, or objects in some rare cases, have to be near me, mind you. But it is a delightful power. Yes, it is. I use it a lot on this here ball. See? Watch as I bounce it. It can grow and shrink, just like that. So much fun." The old ghost nodded to himself, his simple pride for his ability displayed on his wrinkled, smiling face as he demonstrated his power for Ryder.

Ryder's expression only seemed to get sicker and more uncomfortable as the ghost spoke. His thoughts were centered solely around how unnatural and creepy Charles and his power was. Ghosts didn't blink, Ryder had come to realize, and that information only managed to disturb him more than he already was. He couldn't believe Vlad was still making him do this. It was so unfair, he couldn't even begin to describe it.

"That's...that's so creepy," Ryder whimpered out, wishing he could hide behind Vlad again so that he wouldn't get shrunk or grown by Charles. "I mean, I mean, c-cool," the thief quickly amended himself, looking pained as he did. "Yeah...yeah, cool and-and fun. Yeah. So fun."

Looking up at Vlad with his pathetically upset face, Ryder miserably mumbled, "What else should I ask?"

"Don't give me that look," Vlad said, grimacing a little. "You are doing fine. Your fear for ghosts is irrational. I mean, look at this one." Vlad indicated Charles with his free hand. "He is simply an old man who found you entertaining enough to talk and play silly games with. He's harmless, so stop looking so downright pathetic. It's becoming unnerving."

Glancing over his shoulder to Danny and Melody still playing their card game, Vlad smiled and patted Ryder's shoulder. "Now, I have an idea," he told the man. "But I'll need to get the others over here first before I can tell it to you. Alright? This means that I need you stay here and keep talking to Charles. Can you do that for me, Mr. Walker?"

"No! No, I don't like that idea!" Ryder instantly shouted back at Vlad. He didn't care what Vlad said about Charles being harmless, he didn't believe it. Ever since he'd developed claustrophobia, he'd noticed that if he ever got scared of anything, he was _really_ scared of it. It was to the point where he almost became paralyzed with fear and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Ryder hated to admit his weakness, but it was definitely true and this case was no exception.

The thief shook his head rapidly. "No, don't leave me alone with him. Please, don't do that. I'll stop looking pathetic, I promise, I promise."

Vlad released an aggravated sigh. He was tired of Ryder's fearfully obstinate attitude. It was coming in the way of escaping, and Vlad didn't understand why it had to be there in the first place.

"Why are you so scared?" he demanded, sounding flabbergasted. "What is there to be so scared of? What is the worst that could happen if you just stood here and talked to this ghost for three minutes?"

"He could shrink me and step on me," Ryder muttered, his eyes round with fright. "Or-or try and b-break my arm like that o-other ghost. And-and then something could happen to me and-and I wouldn't be able to go back to Jet and then-and then he'd think I left him all alone, and I would never-never do that to him ever, ever-."

Ryder's voice cracked, and he stopped talking as he looked down at the floor again.

Vlad remained silent after hearing Ryder's explanation. He glanced over to Charles who was still bouncing his ball with a serene smile, as if Vlad's and Ryder's conversation had never happened. Pressing his lips together, Vlad looked back at Ryder. Finally, the man gave a defeated sigh and reluctantly let go of his grip on Ryder's shirt.

"Like it or not, we're using this ghost to get out of this room," Vlad told Ryder gravely. "You can help us if you want, but I'm not making you. You're an adult. You can make up your own mind. But know this, Mr. Walker: your absurd fears have got to stop. If you do not put a stop to them, they will only get worse over time. And if that happens, they might come in the way of escaping which only prevents you from seeing Jet again. Got that?"

Ryder didn't respond to Vlad's statement. He was staring pensively at the ground, silently processing what the man had said to him. Vlad was right, of course. Vlad was usually always right when it came down to a lot of things. But just because Vlad was right didn't mean that Ryder's decision was any easier.

What it came down to was this: if Ryder wanted to see Jet again, he had to man-up. However, to man-up, he would have to stop being scared...which was easier said than done. He couldn't just stop being scared. If it was so easy, he would've done it years ago. But the point was, no matter what, he _had_ to stop being so scared all the time if he wanted to help the others and if he wanted to see Jet.

Seeing Jet again was all that he wanted out of his life at this point. That was what got him out of bed every morning in this place. And right now, what stood in his way of doing what he wanted most, was this ghost or, more importantly, his fear of this ghost. He may not have been able to make his fears go away...but he could confront them and tell them to buzz off long enough to do what he needed to do.

Releasing a shaky breath, Ryder slowly nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I got it," he whispered, having to force the words to come out of his clenched throat. Though his legs trembled badly, the thief took a step away from Vlad and towards Charles. Looking up at the ghost, Ryder put on the most welcoming face he could at the moment and asked, "So...so what's y-your favorite color, Chuck?"

"Oh, it's red. Definitely red," Charles chuckled, smiling benignly up at his human friend.

Vlad paused before leaving, watching as Ryder bravely faced his fears to talk to the old ghost. The thief's love towards Jet was enough to make him stand up against all his anxieties at the moment. It was such a strong emotion towards someone other than himself, an emotion Vlad realized he had never truly experienced himself. He'd always thought too strong of emotions like that made people weak and vulnerable, but here Ryder was using that emotion to strengthen himself. Briefly, Vlad wondered how that felt.

Shaking his head, Vlad snapped out his pondering and started to briskly walk toward Melody and Danny sitting nearby. Arriving at their table, Vlad placed his palms flat on the surface and told the two, "Sorry to interrupt your card game that Melody is practically cheating at, but I have another escape plan in mind."

Danny looked up at Vlad, then down at the cards to examine how pitifully he was doing, then back up at Vlad. After a moment's pause, he turned his stare onto Melody and demanded, "You're cheating? How can you even cheat in this game? You said it was all about luck!"

Not looking uncomfortable or guilty in the least bit, Melody said, "Counting cards isn't cheating."

_"It's just frowned upon,"_ she and Vlad said in unison.

"I told you to stop doing that," Vlad grumbled back at the girl.

"Well, if you would simply let me finish my sentences, we wouldn't have this problem, now would we?"

Heaving an irritated sigh, Vlad gave up on their argument and returned his focus back on his escape plan. "Look, I don't care about your card game. What matters now is my plan."

Frowning in distaste at Melody's excuse, Danny leaned back in his seat and blew out a sigh. This was the last time he played a game of cards with Melody, that was for sure. Instead of focusing on how peeved he was at getting tricked for the past hour, he glanced up at Vlad.

"Well, go ahead," the teen said with a sardonic grin and wave. "Let's hear it, Vlad."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Vlad pinned the teen with a narrowed stare that clearly showed the man's disapproval towards Danny's cheeky attitude. Melody let out a small giggle and hid her smile behind her cards when Vlad turned his glare on her. Moments like these always made Vlad wonder how he'd managed to get this far with this group of brats.

"We're all ears, Batman," Melody said in an overly sweet voice.

"I don't know how I put up with either of you," Vlad muttered before getting down to business. "All fun and games aside, my plan is simple. Somehow when Ryder was on his medication, he befriended a senile ghost with the power to change the size of objects. We're going to use that ghost's power to shrink ourselves, walk under the doors, and get out of this room. From there, we'll find a way to get to the first floor. Let's try to avoid the elevators this time. After that, we'll have to improvise. Again, it is a basic plan, but it works.

"Unfortunately, Ryder's obtained an unnatural fear towards ghosts, and he will not want to be shrunk. I can promise you that. This means I need you, Melody, to keep him calm and distracted long enough for us to implement the plan. Danny, I need you to get that map you and Melody found the other week and meet us at the main door. Everyone got that?"

Danny sat up on the bench as he listened to Vlad's plan before slouching down and crossing his arms over his chest once the man had finished. "Ug, great. Can't believe this is happening to me again," he complained, shaking his head as he remembered his last adventure with getting shrunk to the size of a pea. It'd been an accident, but it certainly hadn't been a fun experience. And now it seemed that he was going to willingly do it all over again.

"I do have the worst luck in the world," Danny muttered as he stood up and turned to head for their cabin. As much as he liked to whine, he wasn't gonna argue with Vlad on this one. The plan would definitely work, he had faith in that, so there was no reason really to argue. Instead, he opted for grumbling under his breath as he strode towards the cabin to retrieve the map from underneath his pillow.

As Danny trudged over to the cabin, Vlad and Melody headed back over to where Ryder and Charles were talking. Along the way, Melody glanced over at Danny with an odd look before asking Vlad, "What was that about? Has Danny been shrunk before?"

"He's a superhero," Vlad said, shrugging indifferently. "I'm sure he's been in a lot of odd situations, being shrunk probably one of them. Now, let's try to focus, shall we?"

"Fine."

"Good. First, let's go for a walk," Vlad said. He strode past Ryder, calmly motioning for Melody and Ryder to follow him at a slow pace so as to keep Charles floating after his human friend without drawing suspicion. This would be the easy part of the plan. It would be an altogether different story to get Ryder to ask Charles to shrink them.

"Are you doing okay?" Melody asked Ryder quietly as they leisurely strolled toward the main doors Vlad was taking them to.

Ryder's shoulders were hunched up as he stared at his feet like they were the most interesting things in the world. He could just _feel_ Charles staring at him as he continued to babble away about something or other. He'd kinda stopped listening a few minutes ago.

"No...yes...maybe, I dunno," Ryder muttered, shaking his head. He was trying his best to stay as close to Melody and Vlad as possible without appearing like that was his plan all along. The thief sucked in a loud breath, closed his eyes, and turned his head to say, "That's g-great, Chuck. Just keep...keep talking about your favorite things to shrink and grow. It's...it's awesome. So...awesome."

Facing straight ahead again, Ryder blew out a heavy sigh as his shoulders shook. He finally raised his eyes to look at Melody as he said with a frown, "Vlad's a jerk."

Melody grinned. "And it took you this long to figure that out?" she asked sarcastically.

"You two know I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Vlad said from ahead, not even bothering to look at them.

"Yep!" Melody called back cheerfully. Her grin brightened as she saw him shake his head. Leaning in close to Ryder, she told him in a mock whisper, "Oh, and you're gonna hate him even more soon."

"I told you to keep him calm," Vlad said.

"And distracted," Melody shot back. "And it just so happens that bashing on you is a great distraction. Right, Ryder?"

Ryder nodded in agreement to what Melody had said, his pitiful frown staying glued to his expression. Even as he continued to nod, he asked, "Why am I gonna hate Vlad more? He already made me-me do this, and he stretched my shirt out, too. I liked this shirt, Vlad!"

"What's this about shirts?" Danny asked as he finally caught up to the group. He had the map shoved into his front pocket as he gave everyone a confused look. Honestly, he didn't think it was possible for their group to look any weirder than normal, but the addition of the shrinking ghost to the mix had somehow managed to do it.

Ryder looked over to Danny - who was wisely walking on Melody's side to avoid being in the hugging range - and dramatically said, "Vlad's a jerk, Danny. A _huuuuge_ jerk."

"Oh," Danny said, eyebrows rising as he grinned. He wasn't sure what the context was, but it was hard not to agree with the facts. "Well, yeah. That's Vlad for ya."

Arriving at the main door, Vlad turned around to face the others with a firm frown, saying derisively, "Thank you, everyone, for your positive support toward my character. Can we move on now? That would be nice. Now, I know this will upset you, Mr. Walker, but here is my plan. We're going to use this ghost's power to momentarily shrink ourselves to get under the door. It will only be for a few minutes, so could you kindly ask Charles, here, to do that?"

_And here comes the difficult part,_ Vlad thought with an inward sigh.

For the third of fourth time that day, Ryder's eyes got wide as he finally realized why Melody had said he was going to hate Vlad more. And how right she'd been by saying that. Shaking his head quickly, Ryder whined, "No. No, no, no. _No_. You already made me talk to-to him, and I didn't wanna do that in the first place, but you made me! No! I'm not doing that, too! That's not natural! And-and Chuck said it was rare to use his power on more than one thing. There's four of us, Vlad. Four! That's more than one!"

"He's got a point, Vlad," Danny interjected on Ryder's freak out. In hopes of lightening the mood, he flashed a smile and added, "Four _is_ more than one."

Completely ignoring Danny, Ryder continued his rant by pointing accusingly at Vlad. "You-you said you'd stay with me the whole time, and you didn't. You totally l-lied to me, and I don't wanna do this anymore!" The thief shuddered and shook his head more, his voice dropping to a whisper as he said, "I can't. I can't. I tried my best, and I-I can't do it."

"Of course you can do it, Ryder!" Melody said with a wave of her hand. "I mean, you've gotten this far. Why not go all the way? And we're only going to be shrunk for a few minutes. No big deal. Truthfully, I'm kind of excited about this. I've never even dreamed of being shrunk before. It's going to be like that movie I used to watch when I was a kid. So cool."

"You're actually thrilled about this?" Vlad asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Hey! It's not every day you get to be shrunk down to the size of an ant," Melody defended herself. Turning back towards Ryder, Melody added with an animated grin, "Just think of this experience as a cool story to tell Jet when you get back to him. I know you have a lot of stories, but I think this one will be awesome!" Melody practically bounced off the ground in all her enthusiasm.

Ryder looked back down at Melody, horror in his gaze as he croaked out, "Size of an _ant_?"

"Trust me, it's really not that fun," Danny told Melody as he shook his head. He wasn't trying to be a killjoy, he just wanted to be honest. The teen paused and winced when Ryder turned his desperate eyes onto him, and he quickly added, rubbing the back of his neck, "I mean...yeah, awesome story, right?"

Ryder held up both his hands and took several steps away from everyone just in case Vlad tried to grab him again. "No. This isn't cool. This is stupid," he said, staring mostly at Melody when he spoke. "This is a bad, bad, idea, a-and I'm not helping anymore." The thief clenched his eyes shut and pressed the side of his fist against his forehead. He thought he'd started to conquer his fear when he was talking to Charles alone, but now it was coming back. It was starting to suffocate him and no one was helping at all! "I'm not scared, I'm not, I'm not," he hissed under his breath.

"Wow," Melody said, concern coming to her face. "His fear is worse than I thought it was." She looked up at Vlad, asking, "What do we do now? It's not like we can force him."

"Why are you asking me?" Vlad said warily. "Do I look like a psychologist to you? I don't know how to treat his fear. I thought a little bit of exposure therapy would help, but it doesn't seem to be working obviously." Glancing down at Danny, Vlad hesitated before asking, "Do you have any suggestions, Daniel?"

"Don't ask him!" Melody said. "He's being a fun sucker. He's trying to take the fun out of being shrunk away from me."

"Stop behaving like a five-year-old and let Danny at least answer," Vlad told the girl with an unfriendly smile. As she folded her arms and pouted, Vlad looked back at Danny and nodded for him to go on.

Danny could only frown back at Vlad. It was typical that, in a situation like this, all of the responsibility would fall onto him. Vlad and Melody had about as many comforting bones in their bodies combined to make up a pinkie finger. Sighing to keep himself levelheaded, Danny put his hands on his hips and looked up at Ryder.

The man was definitely upset, but he seemed more angry at himself than the current situation. There was just some sort of inner frustration that he could see on Ryder's face. It was an expression he'd caught himself making too many times over the years. He understood where Ryder was coming from...sort of. It wasn't like Danny was a qualified therapist, either.

Danny chewed on the bottom of his lip as he went out on a limb and glanced at Vlad. "I think we need to make him mad," he said, expression firm despite his discomfort at the notion. The first time they'd tried this, it had ended very badly. However, Danny sensed that something about this situation would change the results from what happened last time. "Reverse psychology, right?"

Clearing his throat, Danny morphed his face into a mean expression and said to Ryder, "Yeah, you are. You're scared. Look at you. You're shaking like a leaf."

Ryder peeked up at Danny, surprise apparent across his face before he scowled. It was the first sign of anger he'd shown since the entire fiasco started. "N-no, I'm n-not," he shot back defensively. "I just...I just don't wanna get sh-shrunk!"

Danny rolled his eyes in response and crossed his arms over his chest. "Right, Ryder. You keep telling yourself that," he sarcastically agreed. "We all know that you're really just a...wimp. A wimp who cheats at rock, paper, scissors. Right, guys?" The teen looked up and nodded to Vlad and Melody for support.

Melody and Vlad were too surprised to respond at first. Out of everyone in their small group never would they believe Danny to be the culprit behind outright insulting Ryder to his face. Then again, it did get a response from the man, so the teen must have had his reasons behind his crazy method. In addition, when would they get a better opportunity to slander the thief?

Sharing a glance, Melody and Vlad smiled wickedly at each other.

"Ladies first," Vlad said, motioning for Melody to go before him.

"Alright," Melody said, squaring her shoulders as she looked at Ryder with an evil smile. "Don't deny it, Ryder. You cheat at that game all the time. And your spoon collection is worthless."

"That isn't even a good one," Vlad said.

"Not really. But he looks more angry to me," Melody pointed out.

Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad told Ryder with a superior smirk, "I think Charles the ghost is right. You play a lousy game of hide-and-go-seek."

Ryder couldn't believe this. He stared back at Danny, Vlad, and Melody, his cheeks burning red with embarrassment and anger. "Sh-shut up," he muttered back to Melody's comment about his spoon collection. When he heard Vlad's mean words, he clenched his fists and growled, "Take that back."

"Oh yeah," Danny agreed, nodding along to what Vlad had said. "Definitely terrible at hide-and-seek. He can't even manage to hide from the guards everyday. They always find him."

"That's 'cause there's nowhere to hide in here!" Ryder yelled at them, his fear suddenly getting pushed to the back of his mind as anger took hold. "Y-you guys are all jerks! And I'm not scared! I'm better at rock, paper, scissors and hiding than all of you! Y-you're all just jealous!"

"Jealous of what?" Melody laughed. "Of your silly goatee? Or the way you leave your scent behind when you hug people?"

"Or the way you snore all night?" Vlad drawled.

"He snores?" Melody asked, aghast at such a horrible thought.

"Indeed he does," Vlad answered. "He sounds like a dying seal when he sleeps. I'm surprised you have not heard it yet." Melody made a face, which only put a smile to Vlad's lips.

"Anyways," Vlad continued in a sneer towards Ryder, "We couldn't possibly be jealous of you, Ryder. As a matter of fact, you can't even talk to a simple ghost without behaving like a child and having a royal melt down; a ghost, by the way, who believes you are his friend. It is pathetic."

Ryder's hands curled into tighter fists, and he glared individually at each person in the group. Their words felt like physical blows slamming into him. It was just as bad as any beating he'd gotten in the past, though it was probably worse because he knew that Vlad was right. He couldn't talk to Charles without being scared. He _was_ scared. There was no denying it any longer, and he hated that Vlad thought he was being a baby. That was what upset him most of all.

The thief squeezed his eyes shut, lowering his head as he blew out several angry breaths. The group's taunting words just kept swirling around in his mind. They wouldn't go away, and it was just making him madder and madder the more he thought about it. He couldn't take it anymore.

Ryder raised his head, blue eyes snapping open as he turned on Charles. He knew exactly what he needed to do to get everyone to just shut up. He'd show them he wasn't scared!

_Ding_!

Ignoring the annoying sound, Ryder pointed at Charles and shouted, "Shrink us, Chuck. Shrink us now!"

The shout jolting him out of his previous ramblings, Charles stared up at Ryder for a second in pure and utter confusion. He almost looked hurt, not understanding why Ryder was so angry at him. Then, wetting his lips with his tongue, Charles nodded in obedience.

"Al-alright, Ryder," the old ghost said softly. "If you wish. I hope this is part of a new game."

And that's when the world drastically changed for all four humans standing there. The walls and ceiling expanded substantially as the four got smaller and smaller. Giving a shrill scream of surprise, Melody grabbed onto Vlad's arm. A wave of vertigo hit Vlad, and he had to take a step back to prevent from falling over. In only a few seconds, the group was reduced to the size of ants.

Holding his stomach to prevent himself from throwing up, Danny groaned out, "Man, I did _not_ miss this feeling." He shook his head and looked around at everyone. They all still looked the same; it was just the rest of the world that had changed. "Everyone okay?" the teen asked.

Ryder shook out his entire body, looking like a dog that was trying to dry off its wet fur. He straightened up when he heard Danny's question, put his hands on his hips, and yelled as loudly as he could, though it probably sounded like a squeak to everyone else in the room, "Ha! Take that! I'm not scared of getting shrunk! I'm not!"

The thief was still on a high from proving himself right. That was probably why he hadn't freaked out yet. Ryder jabbed a finger in Melody's direction, grinning widely. "Suck it!" Then, he pointed at Danny and declared, "Suck it!" Lastly, he pointed both fingers at Vlad and finished, "Suck it!"

Disentangling himself from Melody's grip on his arm, Vlad shot Ryder a shrewd smile and said sarcastically, "Oh, I'm sure we will." Heaving a relieved sigh, Vlad straighten his shirt as he looked around and asked, "Now, where's the door?"

Eyes wide and mouth slightly open in awe, Melody looked around the room in wonder. "I don't care what anyone says," she said quietly while looking up at the looming form of Charles. "Being shrunk is awesome. Scary, but awesome."

Danny rolled his eyes at Melody, but decided to say nothing about her weirdness. "Um...that big dark thing, I think," he answered Vlad's question as he pointed at the enormous black space that seemed to loom above and in front of them. It was the crack beneath the door and the floor, but it looked more like a black hole or something equally as ominous.

Ryder's proud laughter slowly disappeared as he followed Melody's gaze and saw just how big Charles was now compared to him. Then he made the mistake of turning in the direction Danny had gestured. The smile dropped from his face as he stood completely still, realization dawning across his expression yet again. "Oh...oh no," the thief whispered. He put a hand to his chest as he took a wavering step backwards, his fear returning tenfold. Ryder waved his hands rapidly as he yelled, "Chuck! Chuck, change us back! Change us back!"

Vlad looked up at Charles when Ryder began to panic and flap his arms around like a wounded bird. The ghost stared down at the small humans, giggling a little to himself. "You look like little ants," he exclaimed in placid delight. "How cute."

"He can't hear you anymore, Ryder," Vlad said uselessly to the thief. Tapping Melody on the shoulder, he told her sternly, "Stop gawking like a tourist, grab Ryder before he damages himself, and let's get going."

"Jeez. Now _you're_ sucking the fun out of everything," Melody whined.

"This isn't a game," Vlad snapped back at her. "Now move."

Grumbling under her breath, Melody went off to try and calm Ryder down. As she did so, Vlad and Danny took the lead and started to walk toward the ominous door. As they walked, Vlad said quietly, "That was good, quick thinking back there, Daniel. How did you know that angering him would work?"

Danny glanced up at Vlad and smiled just a little. Vlad didn't throw out compliments easily. Actually getting one from the man was like finding a four leaf clover. However, the teen kept his cool and shrugged it off like Vlad's praise was no big deal to him even though it was pretty much the exact opposite.

"It was something Jazz told me when she was trying to 'teach' me something about psychology," he answered just as softly. He shook his head and grinned. "I dunno. It just seemed like it would work, but I'm just as shocked as you are...I wonder if that was a one time thing?"

Danny shrugged again and reached into his pocket to pull out the map. As he unfolded it, he lightly changed the subject by asking, "So what's the plan exactly?" He looked up at Vlad and smirked as he arched an eyebrow. "Or do you even have one?"

Vlad glanced down at Danny, trying not to show his agitation. The truth of the matter was that lately Vlad hadn't been coming up with many escape plans. The ones that did come to mind were very spur of the moment, and they usually failed miserably because of the lack of strategy and organization. The man's mind was too occupied with other, unwanted things he couldn't seem to shake off. Therefore, winging it had been a motto Vlad had unenthusiastically picked up recently, but it wasn't like the man was going to tell Danny this.

Sticking with a lighter attitude than he currently felt, Vlad said with a slight grin, "The plan is not to get caught this time."

Chuckling lightly, Danny replied, "Great idea, Vlad. I'm happy to be a part of this plan." His smile widened, and he held his hands up and added, "No, seriously. It doesn't involve underwear. I'm totally psyched."

"I'm not really shrunk, I'm not really shrunk, I'm not really shrunk." The sound of Ryder's chanting forced Danny to glance over his shoulder and shake his head at the sight of Melody dragging the thief along by the sleeve of his shirt. Ryder looked like he was having a tiny panic-attack, but at least he was moving. That was a good sign.

Grinning, Danny shoved the map into Vlad's hands as he said, "And so is Ryder, in case you couldn't tell."

"Oh, I have ears. I can definitely tell," Vlad said, studying the map now in his hands. At this point, he was just glad they were finally moving along.

After only a few minutes of walking, they got to the towering main door which hummed with electrical power. Treading carefully through the dark shadow the door casted underneath, the group made their way past the door and into the carpeted hallway beyond. The deep, maroon carpet was springy under their feet, making it hard for the four to traverse all the little threads.

Stumbling not for the first time, Vlad uttered a quiet curse before consulting the map again. "We should be getting out of the ghost's range soon, but let's stay by the wall just incase someone walks by. Let's try to find a stairwell first. I'm not trusting the elevators after what happened to you two."

"Don't worry about that one," Danny commented, catching himself just before he face-planted due to the oddly bouncy ground. He straightened himself up and followed closely by Vlad's side as he finished, "I'm pretty sure I'll never use another elevator again after that...and, Ryder, my shirt did nothing to you, y'know?"

The thief didn't even open his eyes or respond as he trudged along behind Danny while keeping a tight hold on the back of his shirt. It made Danny feel very similar to a seeing eye dog. He guessed he could tolerate the feeling as long as it kept Ryder from freaking out more.

Rolling his eyes, Danny reached back and patted Ryder's arm as comfortingly as he could. He did feel bad for the man, but his fear really was extremely irrational. He definitely hoped the man was going to get over it soon. "You're doing great, Ryder," he congratulated the man. "If this plan works, we all owe you a big hug for getting us this far. Isn't that right, guys?" Danny looked from Vlad to Melody, raising his eyebrows as he did. "_Right_, guys?" he prompted them.

"Yeah. Sure. If hugging him is his only reward, I'm fine with that," Melody said distractedly. She was busy looking around, which was making her stagger more than everyone else. At the moment, she looked close to being drunk. Tripping again, Melody took a hard tumble that almost ended up with her hitting her head on the ground. It was prevented by Vlad grabbing her by the arm and keeping her upright.

"Hey!" the man chided her in a stern, serious voice as he yanked her back to her feet, "Pay attention to what you're doing."

Wincing at the pain and the sight of her scratched up and bleeding knees she had landed on, Melody nodded as her only response. Thankfully, only a few steps later was the moment they all got out of Charles' power's range. The group watched with uneasy stomachs as the room got bigger, as if bouncing suddenly to normal size. Vlad placed a hand against one of the hallway's walls, having to shake his head to unclog it from so much vertigo.

Everyone else in the group was in the same boat as Vlad as they leaned against the walls to avoid barfing all over the place. This was probably why it took them so long to realize that they were surrounded by ghosts. And not just any ghosts. They were standing in the middle of a group of ghost guards who all looked equally as surprised to see the humans as they were.

There was a moment of silence as each group just stared at each other in complete shock, no one knowing exactly what to say. However, the moment was broken by Ryder straightening up and shouting, "Scatter!"

Without waiting for a response from his group, the thief took off in a random direction, shoving his way past the guards until he disappeared around a corner. Taking advantage of the guards' surprise, Danny ran in the opposite direction Ryder had. He knew it wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than nothing.

Adopting this attitude as well was Melody and Vlad. Throwing a ball of ectoplasm at one guard, Vlad violently made his way through the throng of ghosts with Melody right behind him. They took off down the corridor Danny had went, but they turned in the opposite direction he'd gone once reaching the end.

Most of the guards had gone after the pair, Melody and Vlad being the slowest to run away. Despite their sluggish start, the two made up for it with their speed. Vlad was surprised when Melody pulled up in front of him as they blindly sprinted around another corner. They rushed down a third hallway, the guards close behind, but Vlad knew that if they didn't do something drastic soon they'd wind up in a dead end.

That in mind, Vlad took advantage of the first open archway into another room he found. Skidding to a halt, Vlad grabbed Melody's arm and pulled her into the room while turning her and himself invisible just before the guards rounded the last corner. Cupping his hand over Melody's mouth to keep her quiet, Vlad pressed himself against the wall and waited for the guards to pass by.

Once it was safe to say that the coast was clear, Vlad let Melody go and turned visible again with a relieved sigh. Lacing her fingers together and placing her connected hands atop her head, Melody gasped for breath as she walked around in a tight circle. After a few seconds of silence, the two shared a look.

"Nice escape plan, genius," Melody whispered harshly.

"Next time, I'm just going to let you keep running," Vlad growled back.

Melody rolled her eyes before looking away in a huff. She looked around the room, finally asking, "Where the hell are we?"

-Danny-

Panting from excitement and fear, Danny slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room he'd chosen to hide in. He hadn't really been paying much attention to door labels when he'd been running away so he wasn't exactly sure what to expect. However, a room stacked to the brim with dirty magazines and pin-ups for both genders still managed to shock him into silence.

According to the sign, he'd stumbled upon a section of: Popular Human Literature.

"Oh..." Danny couldn't even finish his sentence. He slapped his hands across his eyes and shook his head quickly. He didn't need this right now. Not when he was trying to escape by using Vlad's horrible plan.

"Just don't look, don't look," the teen told himself as he pushed himself away from the wall. He kept his eyes focused on the ground as he trudged through the room of Playboys and girls, searching desperately for a exit. He really hoped the others were doing better than he was at the moment.

-Ryder-

The thief didn't stop running until he finally realized that the guards weren't behind him any longer and, looking back on it, he'd actually found the stairs. Breathing louder than normal, Ryder raised his eyes from the floor and looked around at the 1st floor. Everything pretty much looked the same except-

"Holy tolitos," Ryder breathed, eyes going wide as he looked around at all of the painting lining the walls. A giddy smile shot to his face as he realized that he could finally get his Jean Jouvenet painting. All he had to do was find it and it was his! Bouncing into action, Ryder quickly hurried through the hall, searching for his prize that had alluded him for so long.

Unfortunately, Ryder wasn't the only one looking at painting at the moment. The museum was still open, and that meant there were guests about. A fact he realized the second he turned the corner and ran headfirst into one of them. Stumbling backwards, Ryder quickly caught himself and looked up at who he'd run into. His eyes connected with the startled, glowing red eyes of a green-skinned ghost with claw hands. _Claw_ hands!

The human gasped and reared backwards, releasing a terrified squeak. Ryder held his hands up defensively though he knew he'd be too frightened to fight if it came down to it. The surprised ghost didn't know this, however, and he reacted in the same manner by floating backwards and letting out a shout of alarm. This ghost had never seen humans up close before, and now one of them was standing right in front of him!

The ghost's shout caused the others packed into the hallway to look up simultaneously. Their eyes landed on Ryder who stiffened up and screamed, "You have got to be k-kidding me!"

Ryder's yell startled all of the ghosts in the hallway, and they all let out wails of fear as they fled. Some disappeared by running down hallways, while others just flew or ran for it in no particular direction. No matter what the manner of escape was, the result was the same.

Ryder was left standing alone in the middle of the hallway, blinking stupidly. "I...I didn't expect that," he muttered to himself.

-Melody and Vlad-

Looking around the big, high-ceiling room like Melody was, Vlad muttered with a grim expression, "I appreciate taxidermy as much as the next guy, but it's sufficient to say that there can always be too much of something."

"If that was your way of expressing how creeped out you are right now, then I'm not arguing with you," Melody said, backing up into the center of the room to get a better, more eerie look.

Every inch of every wall was covered with plaques with mounted dead animal heads on them. The animals ranged from the normal deer and moose to such extremes as giant elephant and tiny mouse heads. Each cranium wore a pair of black, glossy eyes that always seemed to follow the humans whichever way they turned. It was like being on center stage to a silent, soulless zoo audience.

"I wonder what purpose this room is for," Vlad muttered in confusion.

"Probably to scare the shit out of anyone who comes in," Melody offered her only answer.

"The sign outside the room said Animal Wall Art."

"Well, it's half right," Melody as she ventured toward the only set of stairs in the room that led upward and into an unknown room. "They are animals on the walls, but I wouldn't exactly call it art. For someone who prides himself on knowing humans, the Collector doesn't know crap about us in the real world."

"True," Vlad said. "What are you doing? We want to go down to the first floor, not travel upward. You're defeating the purpose of this escape attempt."

"Your escape attempt failed. Epically," Melody said as she climbed the steps. "So I'm going to explore. The more we know about the museum, the more we know about the Collector. You said so yourself that that's a good thing. So either follow me, or go your own way and get caught. Either way, I'm going to have some fun while I'm out of that retarded room."

From his standing point in the middle of the room, Vlad frowned up at the girl. He hated to admit it, but she was right. The best option they had now was to explore, try to find some stairs to the first floor along the way, and avoid being caught for as long as possible. Vlad didn't want to go about that alone, so he heaved a weary sigh, put his hands into his pockets, and silently followed Melody up the stairs and into the next room.

-Danny-

"I can't believe this."

Danny glared around the new room he found himself in. After escaping from the room of pornography, he'd stumbled his way through the halls before having to dive into another room to avoid a group of guards. Unfortunately, this new room consisted of nothing but mirrors. Funhouse mirrors, to be precise.

"Who needs this many mirrors?" Danny asked of no one as he tossed his hands in the air. Shaking his head, the teen began to weave his way through the maze of glass, eyes narrowed as he listened for the sound of any other ghosts that could be around. The sight of his rapidly changing reflection really did nothing to lighten the mood, especially considering how dark and creepy this room was.

"Man, when the Collector collects things, he really goes all out," Danny muttered, squeezing his way between two curved mirrors that made him look awkwardly skinny and then extremely fat. "Well...duh, but this is just excessive. He's like a little kid that can't stop buying beanie babies."

It didn't take long for Danny to become increasingly agitated by the extensive amount of mirrors and, being unable to find the exit, he decided to change into his ghost form and phase his way out of the room. He didn't think that any of them was actually going to escape this time around, so he was gonna make the most of being free.

Danny flew silently through several more hallways before he came to a screeching halt as he realized that he had most definitely just flown into the wrong room.

For one, the lighting had drastically changed. Instead of the harsh, bright lights that he was used to seeing, this room was coated in a soft, tranquil, orangey light that just seemed to have a calming effect on him. The room itself was large, but not gigantic, and it was stacked to the brim with pretty much everything you could think of. Book shelves lined every wall with painting squeezed in between each different stack. Beautifully carven statues clustered the space on the floor along with intricately woven carpets and animal pelts. Glowing ghostly objects floated around the room as if on their own accord, only adding to the complete oddness of the room's layout.

The kicker, though, was the ghost that was sitting down at the massive and glowing desk in the center of the room. The humanoid form of the Collector didn't look up from the book he was reading until he seemed to sense a pair of eyes watching him. Only then did his whitish gaze lift from the words he was so consumed in and land on the half-ghost that had just intruded into his personal study.

"Heh...hey," Danny broke the silence by saying. He waved a little, smiling nervously. "Nice...nice place you have here. I really like the whole clustered thing you have going...heh." The fury that came to the Collector's face as he stood up was enough to tell Danny just what the ghost thought of his comments, and he swallowed nervously.

_I can't believe I just got caught first again. Vlad is gonna rub this in my face, I just know it._

-Melody and Vlad-

"And Ryder called me a geek," Vlad said quietly, trying not to smile. He was failing at the moment, though. The sight before him was just too outrageous. "He's surely mistaken."

The two had found themselves in the Human Fashion section of the museum. With total disregard of the signs that said not to touch the models and clothing, Melody had snitched a gargantuan black afro wig and donned a pair of sunglasses with peace signs on the lenses which were created from fake, cheap diamonds. As they walked down the deserted walkway of models, Melody randomly jumped into dances from the 70's era before erupting into fits of giggles.

"Stop trying to ruin my fun, Batman," Melody said as she jumped up and shoved a purple pimp hat atop Vlad's head. "I've been cooped up in that horrible room for about four months now. This is therapy for my soul. Don't you dare try to take that off."

Giving Melody a nasty smile, Vlad took off the hat and set it aflame with his ghost powers. Melody blinked in surprise before laughing and saying, "The Collector is going to kill you for that."

"I don't care," Vlad said with a smirk. "As you said: therapy for my soul."

"Nice."

As they continued to walk aimlessly around, Vlad suddenly asked with curiosity, "Why do you not act this way in front of Ryder and Danny? You don't seem embarrassed at all in front of me."

"Because they _care_ about me and how I act. Duh," Melody answered as she put on an ugly brown vest with massive amounts of tassels. "You don't care. You don't care about anything."

"Stop saying extravagant things just to get my attention. I do care about things, and you know this very well."

"Yeah. You only care about your stupid evil genius image, being in control, and escaping from here so you can go back to being rich, important, and powerful. That's about it. It sums up your pathetic life. And you don't care about us. We're just a means to an end, am I right?"

Melody said this so frivolously, Vlad didn't know how to respond at first. He was shocked when his first reaction was to defend himself and get angry with the girl. A few weeks ago, he probably would have shrugged the entire trivial statement off with a conceited grin because what she had said was right in some ways. Now he didn't know how to react to her statement. For reasons unknown, he wanted to disagree and say he did care, but Vlad wasn't so sure if he did or not. Left with confusion, he remained pensive and silent.

Noticing his lack of response, Melody's flippant smile faded as she studied the man following her down the hallway. He looked frustrated, but not with her; it looked more like a battle with himself. Smile returning, Melody rushed back over to Vlad and placed a fedora this time on his head. Vlad looked up at her, flabbergasted.

"It suits you," she told him with a wink.

"If I belonged to the mob, yes," Vlad said with a chuckle, but he left the fedora on anyways.

Just as the pair turned a corner and walked around a group of models dressed in space suits, they were greeted with the sight of a nervous looking Danny and a very pissed looking Curator looming beside him with a hand placed firmly on his shoulder.

"Hey, nice hat, Vlad," the teen - who was still trapped in his ghost form - commented. He turned his eyes to Melody, paused, and added, "And, Melody...you're weird."

"_Be silent unless I speak to you_," the Collector ordered in a snarl to the boy who shut his mouth immediately after hearing the ghost speak. Danny could only grimace at Melody and Vlad in his helpless state. He couldn't even move unless the Curator told him to. It frustrated and even frightened him a little because he knew just how angry the Collector was right now. He'd made that one very clear back in his study before he'd dragged him off in his search for the others.

The unnaturally tall ghost pointed firmly at Vlad, his voice booming around the room as he snapped, "_Change into your ghost form and do not move unless I tell you_." Glowing eyes shooting to Melody, the Collector growled, "_And remove my model's clothing immediately_."

Without much say in the matter, Vlad transformed while Melody quickly shed the wig, glasses, and vest with a sheepish smile. Once she was done, she noticed that Vlad was still wearing his fedora. Standing on her tip toes, she snatched the hat off his head, saying quietly, "I'll take that back. Thanks. Don't worry. It doesn't look so great on you when you're a ghost, so I'm doing you a favor."

"Much appreciated," Vlad drawled sarcastically.

Once finished, the two looked back at the Collector and Danny with mixed expressions. Melody looked a little embarrassed as she twirled her hair with a forefinger while Vlad tried to come off as inscrutable. There wasn't much the two could do now besides wait for their orders.

The Collector gave Melody and Vlad a stern look. Though he looked like he wanted to yell at them right then and there, he somehow resisted and composed himself by running a hand down the front of his suit.

The ghost stepped to the side and gestured with his arm at Vlad as he said, "_Come stand beside Mr. Fenton_." Once the man had been forced to do so, he put his hand on Melody's shoulder, brought her forward to stand beside him and sneered at the group with an unpleasant smile, "_Let's go for a walk, shall we_?"

-Ryder-

Grinning to himself, Ryder re-laced his right boot and stood up as he strode confidently out of the section of hallways labeled: Ghostly Artifacts. After his first scare-fest with the ghosts, he was feeling pretty darn good about himself. Everywhere he went, ghosts ran away from him.

It. Was. Awesome. He felt like his old self again. He wasn't scared. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't afraid of anything!

Ryder let out a loud laugh as he clomped up the stairs leading back up to the 2nd floor and stood on the top of them. "I'm king of the museum again! Ha-ha! All shall bow down before me!" the man yelled at the top of his lungs as he placed his hands proudly on his hips and struck a noble pose.

He spun around to yell his proclamation back down the stairs, but the shout died in his throat and was replaced by a horrified yelping sound. Staring at him from barely 2 feet away was a shark; or in better terms, a shark ghost. Two of the things that scared the crap out of him combined into one horribly deformed creature.

"Oh my god!" Ryder squeaked, stumbling backwards away from the frightened looking shark ghost. "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" Without waiting for a response, Ryder turned and fled the scene.

The thief ran for a long time again. He only stopped when he got tired which was much quicker than usual considering how heavy his clothes had gotten. Leaning his back against a wall, Ryder panted and put his hands over his face as he did his best to calm himself down. It wasn't fair...just when he was starting to feel better, he went right back to where he'd been. What was wrong with him? He didn't understand it.

Ryder slowly dragged his hand down his face and stiffened up when he felt eyes watching him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he peered over his shoulder. The thief released another horrified squeak when he saw that he hadn't been leaning against a wall.

No, he'd been leaning against a display case window. The display case window that happened to belong to the multiplying ghost that had tried to kill him.

Looking up from hearing Ryder's scared squeak, the ghost instantly recognized the man and frowned angrily. "Hey!" he shouted, the ghost's voice booming around his display case as the ghost lumbered to his feet. "How did you get out?" he asked as he stomped toward Ryder until the only thing between them was the glass wall.

Ryder stood frozen in front of the glass, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he fought to keep himself from shaking...too badly. He hadn't seen the ghost since the beating. It was probably because the Collector had apparently ordered them to avoid the humans.

Seeing him for the first time scared him more than he'd been before. Way more. Ryder felt like he was going to pass out from fear as he desperately gulped in breaths of air just in case he did lose consciousness.

"I-I...p-please don't hurt me," Ryder stammered out, too terrified to move away from the ghost. He knew he was behind the glass, but that did nothing to calm his hammering heart.

The ghost gave a stupid smile and chuckled deeply. Seeing Ryder as scared as a bunny rabbit caught in a trap amused the giant ghost. Although he knew he wouldn't be able to physically hurt Ryder because of the Collector's command, there was no rule preventing him from scaring the human. So with a hearty laugh, the ghost threw his fist back and punched the glass wall with a mighty battle yell.

Ryder let out a shout of fear, falling flat onto his back as he expected to be punched directly in the face again. He threw his arms up to protect his head and curled into a ball just in case the multiplying ghost tried to punt him again.

When he felt no glass rain down around him due to the ghost's punch, Ryder knew that the jerk was just messing with him. He couldn't break the glass. The ghost's laughter only seemed to reinforce the ideal that he was getting made fun of all over again. Trembling horribly from his scare, Ryder pushed himself up to an unsteady elbow and stuttered out, "S-stop laugh-laughing at me."

Still chuckling a little, the ghost said, "Why? That was funny."

Ryder closed his eyes and lowered his head, trying desperately to stop himself from shaking. He hated this. He hated being laughed at by the people that wanted to hurt him and that had hurt him in the past. He hated that his friends had laughed at him. He hated that he was so scared. Why was he so scared?

_I don't want to die_, the thief caught himself thinking as his hands slowly squeezed into fists. _I can't die. I can't. No, I don't want to die._

That was why he was so scared. He was afraid of dying in this place and never seeing Jet again. As Ryder slowly pulled himself up to his knees, Vlad's words came back to him: _Your absurd fears have got to stop._

"Yeah," Ryder whispered, keeping his eyes tightly shut.

_Prevent you from seeing Jet again,_ Vlad continued in his head. The thief nodded as he forced his legs beneath him and rose up to his full height.

_If you do not put a stop to them, they will only get worse over time,_ Vlad finished firmly inside his mind.

Breathing hard, Ryder snapped his eyes open and glared up at the multiplying ghost with hatred and strength burning in his gaze. He'd talked to Chuck even though he was terrified, he'd gotten shrunk, he'd escaped from the ghost guards, he _was_ the most talented thief in the world. He wasn't going to let this ghost scare him any longer. He wasn't going to be afraid anymore!

"You don't scare me," Ryder rumbled, his voice sounding stronger than it ever had before. "I'm not afraid of you or any other ghost in the entire Ghost Zone! I'm _not_ scared!"

Just as Ryder's shout died down, someone cleared their throat. The thief turned his head and dropped his fighting stance as he looked up at the Curator then down at the faces of Melody, Danny, and Vlad. Finally, he scowled and shoved a hostile forefinger at the Collector as he growled, "I'm not afraid of you, either."

"This is not one of the best times to get over your fear for ghosts," Vlad somberly pointed out.

"Don't listen to him, Ryder," Melody said with a giant grin. "_I'm_ pretty proud of you," she said with a snarky grin in Vlad's direction. "And I'd hug you right now if I hadn't been ordered not to move."

Danny flashed a brilliant smile at Ryder, wishing he could add his encouragement to what Melody had said, but he was still being forced to stay quiet. He hoped the thief could decipher the agreement in his eyes, though. He was definitely proud of the man even though they were all probably doomed to punishment.

Frowning flatly back at Ryder, the Collector muttered, his voice unnaturally calm, "_Line up against the wall. All of you. Now_."

Once the humans had been forced up against the wall facing the Curator, the ghost placed a hand over his face and tightly squeezed the bridge of his nose. He silently paced up and down the line of quiet humans, the clacking of his overly shiny shoes the only sound to be heard through the hushed hallway.

After several long moments, the Curator stopped, turned to face the humans, and stared at them flatly. "I don't think I need to explain how upset I am," he told them, the natural glow in his eyes dulled with frustration. "I don't think I need to ask why you have done what you have done. I think it is quite apparent. The only thing I want to know is this..."

The Collector's eyes focused solely on Vlad as he asked with a mocking hint in his tone, "Who is responsible for this? I have my suspicions, but I just want to hear the one in charge say it. Please, do enlighten me."

"It was me."

The dark smirk dropped from the Collector's face, and his wide eyes shot away from Vlad to stare at the human who had spoken up. Ryder glared firmly back at the ghost and repeated himself, "It was me. I did it."

With shock written on all their faces, the others looked over at Ryder too. Melody tried not to show her concern as she glanced back at Vlad and asked with her expression what he thought Ryder was doing. Just as confused as she was, Vlad gave a discreet shrug. He'd been fully prepared for his punishment and understood that there were consequences to his actions, so he didn't understand why Ryder was going out of his way to take the full blame when in reality it was both their faults. It had been Vlad's idea, but the idea only worked with Ryder's help.

Curious as to where Ryder was taking things, Vlad kept silent.

Keeping his steady gaze focused on the confused looking Curator, Ryder muttered with a scowl, "I made everyone listen to my plan. It was just me. No one else even wanted to do it. I'm responsible."

The Collector straightened up, eyebrows furrowed deeply together as he listened to the thief. He never would have suspected this. Ryder had always, secretly, been one of his favorite displays simply because he'd never shown any signs of aggression or disrespect towards him. The thief always seemed to be lost in one of his own, little worlds and seemed perfectly content with his life here in the museum.

The ghost had just assumed that Ryder tagged along with whatever the rest of the group decided to do, but that clearly wasn't true now. His whitish eyes slid back to Vlad and narrowed in thought. Apparently, Vlad wasn't the mastermind behind these rebellious ideas. That was very disconcerting.

"I...see," the Collector murmured uncertainly. He was trying to appear less flustered than he actually was. Clearing his throat swiftly, the ghost said, "Then you will receive punishment accordingly, Mr. Walker. I...I did not wish for you to be the first, but it would seem you have made that decision for me."

Ryder didn't drop his glare for a moment as he growled, "Looks like it."

Sighing softly, the Collector shook his head in response. "I will take you to your punishment, then," he said after a short pause. "_The rest of you will return to your area immediately. The guards are waiting around the corner. Go to them and allow them to escort you_."

Even as the effects of the Collector's power propelled her to walk with the others down the hall, Melody shouted back, "But wait! It was all our faults! I mean, we all agreed to go ahead with the plan. You can't just punish Ryder." Turning to Vlad, she pleaded, "Help me! You know this is your fault too!"

Startled by her imploring, Vlad said with his hands raised defensively, "What do you want me to do? If Ryder wants to take all the blame, he's entitled too. That's his choice, and he seemed very much determined to keep it that way."

"H-how can you say that?" Melody shouted back angrily, face flushed red as the guards met up with them and escorted the group back to their room. "You're just being selfish! You didn't want to be punished, so now you're letting Ryder take your place!"

"You and I both know that isn't true!" Vlad responded with fierce sternness. "Don't start this when you know the real reason you're so upset is because you don't want Ryder to get hurt. You can't protect him forever. He's an adult, Melody. Despite how he behaves when he is around us, Ryder is fully capable of taking care of himself, and he is proving that to us as we speak."

By this time, the group had arrived in the main room and were being directed by the guards to their respective display cases. Too furious to speak, Melody marched over to her case as Danny and Vlad were taken to theirs. Once inside and the doors closed behind them, Vlad let out another weary sigh before glancing down at Danny as if seeing him for the first time.

"Are you alright?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You've been unnaturally quiet lately."

"I'm not sure if that was a joke, but it was a really crappy one," Danny answered, frowning deeply back up at Vlad. He used his hands to explain the situation slowly to Vlad, "The Collector wouldn't let me talk. Weren't you listening? Ug, never mind."

The teen ran a hand through his hair, directing his concerned scowl at the ground. He honestly couldn't believe that had just happened. What was the Collector going to do to Ryder? And why had the man taken the blame for what was basically all of Vlad's fault? It didn't make sense. Was Ryder going to be okay? Like Vlad had said to Melody, Danny felt a weighty sense of responsibility when it came down to protecting both Ryder and Melody. He couldn't help but be highly concerned for the thief.

Looking back up at Vlad, Danny shook his head, his confusion and concern written plainly across his face. "Why didn't you say anything? Why...why'd you let Ryder do that? He's gonna get punished all by himself now. Don't you care?"

"Why does everyone keep bringing that subject up today?" Vlad grumbled to himself before sighing and closing his eyes to collect his thoughts. Opening them, he looked back down at Danny and told him, "Ryder was determined to take the blame for me, for all of us. If he had wanted our help, he would have gotten that message across somehow; Ryder isn't a subtle man. He had his agenda and his own reasons. To deny him those would almost be like a slap to the man's pride.

"When I took the blame for you when we stole Ryder's necklace, you didn't stop me," Vlad continued. "It's the same case here. It was Ryder's choice, just like it had been mine. If you had tried to stop me, I wouldn't have appreciated it. Ryder wanted to go about his punishment alone, and I respect his choice. I'll admit, though, I'd like to hear his reasoning behind it when he gets back."

Danny was silent for several moments as he leaned his back against the wall. He didn't look at Vlad, opting to change back into his human form and sigh as he stared at the glass wall. He guessed Vlad had a point, in his own way. Ryder had obviously wanted to protect all of them even after they'd tricked him into getting shrunk.

He knew he was gonna feel guilty about that one for a while.

The teen finally did glance up at Vlad after sighing softly again. "If you were gonna get hurt for the necklace thing, I wouldn't have let you take the blame," Danny told the man. He shook his head as he said, "Even _if_ you got mad at me."

Transforming back into his human form, Vlad stared at Danny long and hard, trying his best to understand where the boy was coming from. This time he really wanted to know. He wanted to know what he'd done wrong or to know if what he done was _actually_ wrong. Was it inappropriate for him to respect Ryder's decision and let him take the blame? Should he have done something else?

What did Danny want from him? The man was sick and tired of making everyone so upset. It seemed every decision he made these days ended in complete failure, and he didn't understand why. Every word he uttered, every thought that crossed his mind, and every escape attempt put into action either backfired or was utterly unsuccessful. It frustrated Vlad to no end. No matter how hard he tried or how long he waited, he hadn't fully snapped back into the confident, successful man he used to be. He was only a shadow of his former self; a slowly fading one, at that.

Vlad realized that he was losing more than just his freedom and control while being in the museum. He was beginning to lose his understanding of who he was. The corner stone that used to hold up his values, ethics, and actions was cracking under the pressure. Vlad didn't know how much farther he could go without breaking the foundations completely. Then where would he be? He didn't want to think about that.

Opening his mouth, Vlad was ready to give Danny a legitimate excuse and argument that would explain his actions, but before the words even made it out of his mouth, Vlad realized he didn't mean any of them. It would all be worthless. So, with a fatigued sigh, the man said while slowly walking away, "Just forget it, Daniel."

Danny wasn't quite sure what to do when Vlad turned his back on him. The man had just been about to argue with him. He'd seen it in the guy's eyes and had been preparing himself for a verbal battle, but it hadn't happened. Instantly, Danny knew something was wrong; something was really wrong, and it wasn't just because of what had gone down with the Collector.

The teen stared in concern at Vlad's back, at a complete loss for words or actions. What could he do? Why was Vlad so upset? Was he angry at their most recent failure or mad at Danny himself for one reason or another? Or was Vlad even angry at all? Maybe he could be sad. Danny hadn't seen Vlad actually show outright sadness before, but maybe it was possible.

Danny shook his head, forcing himself to stop over-thinking everything. He was falling back into his old ways, and he really needed to stop it. He wasn't going to play anymore mind games with Vlad. Neither of them needed it at this point.

Taking a few hesitant steps towards Vlad, Danny gingerly asked, "Vlad...what's wrong?" He paused, swallowing down his nerves as he looked up at the back of the man's head. "You can talk to me."

Vlad stopped in his tracks, looking at the ground as he gritted his teeth in indecision. He couldn't believe he was being so tempted to say anything to Danny. His very nature screamed at him to blow the child off with a snide remark and leave it at that, but something else inside him pleaded for understanding. And if understanding meant talking to a teenager with very little experience, it didn't care. It just wanted answers.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, Vlad decided to screw his nature and go out on a limb. There wasn't very much left he could lose. Glaring over his shoulder at Danny, the man asked, "What was I supposed to do back there with Ryder? What would you have done if you were in my place?"

Danny looked back up at Vlad, a little shocked that he'd actually asked him anything. He wasn't sure why the man had decided to ask that particular question, but he wasn't yelling. That was good. Sure, he looked peeved, but not violent...not _yet_ anyways.

"I would've taken the blame, too," the teen answered honestly. He gave a small, uncertain shrug as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Because...Ryder's my friend. Even if he got mad at me for getting punished too, I still would've done it. I wouldn't have let him do it alone. I care about what happens to him." Danny glanced to the side, murmuring, "We have to stick together in this place. We're all each other's got right now. And...I know Ryder cares about us, too. That's enough for me to want to help him."

"But I'm not anyone's friend here," Vlad tried to say matter-of-factly, but it came out sounding more like a sentence of uncertainty than a statement of truth. "Did he still expect me to share in the blame? How could respecting his wishes be deemed as wrong? I don't understand any of you."

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one," Danny muttered back, his eyebrows furrowed deeply in thought. The teen shoved his hands into his pockets and met Vlad's eyes again, his expression pinching up as he frowned. "Look, I don't know what Ryder wanted. I'm not him, I dunno. What I do know is that just 'cause you keep denying that you don't care about any of us doesn't mean that...that, well, we don't care about you."

Danny stopped himself before he could say more. He'd already said too much as it was, and it didn't make any difference whatsoever. Maybe Vlad couldn't change enough to realize what he was trying to tell him. Maybe he was just wasting his time and effort.

The teen blew out another heavy sigh and muttered as he turned to walk to the other end of their display case, "Forget it, Vlad. I'm not repeating myself anymore. Keep thinking what you want."

Vlad silently watched as Danny walked away, too confused and flustered to form an actual sentence. He didn't know if what Danny had said was true or not. Did the others actually care about him? Sure, he knew they cared enough to try and stick together because that benefited everyone and promoted escape, but did they care about him on the personal level Danny had just implied they did? The bigger question was this: did he personally care about them in return?

_Yes, maybe I do,_ Vlad thoughtfully answered his own question. He cared about Danny enough to stop trying to fight with him. He cared about Ryder obviously from his actions. He'd rescued the man from death when he really didn't have to. He also cared about the man's fears holding him back and had tried to fix them. He cared about Melody more than he wanted to admit. There was a lot of himself he saw in her, and in a small way he wanted to help her reach her full potential...whatever that may be.

His only problem was expressing this care. Vlad hadn't cared about anyone since that ghost portal accident in college. The emotion was unfamiliar and practically foreign. He didn't know what to do with it or even if he wanted it. The emotion made him feel foolish and cumbersome, which were things he despised. But there was no taking it back. Like it or not, he was stuck with this emotion, and he knew he'd have to figure out what to do with it soon; preferably before he blundered anything else up. Maybe he could even use it to his advantage in the future.

Releasing another long, somber sigh, Vlad slipped his hands into his pockets. To decipher anything, he was going to have to do what he knew he did best: think it through. The best way to start was to pace. So with one last glance in Danny's direction, the man picked a slow, methodic pace as he delved deep into his own thoughts.

A/N: Oh, Vlad. You are so confused and pathetic. Ha ha! Anyways, expect the next chapter next weekend. I might even post twice again if I have the time. Thanks for reading! I'll see you guys next weekend!


	17. Chapter 17 Making Amends and Conversatio

A/N: Hey! I'm actually posting on time this week and not skipping an entire week! Imagine that. I know. I'm awesome. Anyways, I do want to say that this is another chapter I rather enjoyed writing. Lots of Vlad and Danny character development. Good stuff. Also, I keep getting anonymous reviews from people who are asking questions. Just for the record, if you are not signed in or give your email address, I can not respond to your reviews or questions. Sorry. So if you want answers, go ahead and sign in, please, 'cause I'd love to answer 'em. Well, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. The rest is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Lots of things happened last chapter. The group got free briefly by using a ghost to shrink them down, Ryder manned up and faced his newfound fear of ghosts, the thief took the blame for the escape attempt when the Collector finally caught everyone although it was obviously all Vlad's fault, everyone got mad at Vlad for not saying anything, and at last Vlad had to admit to himself that maybe he's starting to care about his fellow inmates more than he really wants to.

Chapter 17 Making Amends and Conversations

Danny waited anxiously in front of his display case door, bouncing from foot to foot as he mentally begged the annoying bell to go off so he could get out of the room. Vlad hadn't said anything since their argument, if he could call it that, and Danny hadn't tried to start up another conversation. He didn't know what the point was anymore.

He figured that he'd just been fooling himself into believing that Vlad was changing enough for a difference to actually be noticed by other people. Sure, the guy wasn't as bad as he was in Amity, but it wasn't like he was completely better, either. It was a very depressing thought process that had been plaguing the teen for hours as he begged time to move faster so they could be done with their displays for the day.

"C'mon," Danny muttered, his anxious thoughts causing him to pace back and forth in front of the unmoving door. He wanted to see what had happened to Ryder and if the man was alright. What punishment had the Collector thought up for him? "Ug, c'mon, c'mon," the boy repeated himself, running a hand through his hair as he continued to pace.

_Ding_!

Danny almost jumped in surprise when the bell actually went off as if finally answering his silent prayers and rewarding him for being so patient. Shaking away his shock, Danny hurried out of the case and quickly looked in the direction of Melody and Ryder's display case.

His shoulders slumped when he saw the doors open to reveal Melody by herself. That meant Ryder hadn't come back yet. But the man had been gone for hours now. Danny shared an upset look with Melody before turning away and rubbing his forehead as he hissed under his breath, "Crap."

"I assume that means that Ryder is not back yet," Vlad said, right behind Danny. The man frowned. "That's not what I predicted," he muttered as he briskly walked toward the picnic table they usually sat at when they waited for lunch and dinner.

Melody was already sitting when he got there, but she was far from behind still. She kept playing with her hair and glancing at the main door, clearly distraught. Vlad paused before slipping into the seat across from her. She didn't seem angry at him, but he could never tell sometimes with her. Unless nervous, Melody was a pro at keeping her emotions hidden until the right striking moment.

When Danny joined them, Melody finally collapsed against the table and rested her head on her arms. She mumbled around her hair now splayed out over her face, "This is so stupid."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, slouching in his seat as he scrutinized the tabletop. He hated it when this happened to their group. First it was Vlad that disappeared overnight, then Ryder when he got beat up, and now Ryder all over again. The teen wasn't sure how much longer he could take the stress of worrying about all of them.

"If the Collector did anything to him, I swear I'm gonna- holy crap! Ryder!" the teen broke off as he looked up at the door just in time to see the man being pushed inside. He looked unsteady, but not too worse for wear. The greatest relief was that he could walk...well, sort of. He kind of looked like he was gonna fall over at any second as he slowly made his way towards the cabin without even glancing in the group's direction.

Before the race to Ryder could even begin between Melody and Danny, Vlad cut them off by getting to his feet first and ordering with quiet sternness, "Let me talk to him first. Both of you stay here."

Without waiting for their answer or complaints, Vlad steadily made his way to their cabin where Ryder had just disappeared into. The man felt his shoulders tense up, and he instinctively gritted his teeth. With an ironic smile, Vlad realized he was nervous. He didn't even know exactly what he was going to say to Ryder. Every fiber of his body told him he was being stupid at the moment, but he ignored that part of his character. This needed to be done.

Vlad opened the door to their cabin, went in without any hesitation, and swiftly closed the door behind him. Slowly, he turned around and faced Ryder.

The thief was on his hands and knees with his face buried in the cabin's only trash can. Due to the loud coughing Vlad could hear, he had to come to the conclusion that he'd just barely missed Ryder throwing up. However, the man swiftly took care of that as his shoulders tensed up, and he went for round two of completely tossing his cookies.

Once he was done, Ryder pushed himself away from the smelly trash can, wiping his mouth on his sleeve as he panted heavily and moaned, "Ugg, I _hate_ puking. I hate it. No more, no more."

Ryder paused in his whining when he realized that someone was watching him, and he unwillingly looked up at Vlad. There was a moment of silence as the thief's flushed cheeks darkened, and he muttered softly, "I...I thought I could make it to the bathroom...but I didn't."

"I can see that," Vlad said grimly, glancing at the trash can briefly before returning his stare to Ryder. He pressed his lips together in his first display of reluctance. Opening his mouth to say the thing he set out to do, the man only disappointed himself when he changed his mind at the last moment and instead asked with a short sigh, "What was your punishment?"

Ryder swallowed painfully and stared off to the side as he pulled his heavy boots off and kicked them beneath his bed. He let his back rest against the wall and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before he muttered, "The Collector put me in that closet we got stuck in. He made me stay there the whole time." Ryder ran a hand across his bald head, adding in a pathetic attempt at a lie, "It...it wasn't t-that bad. I had a f-feeling it was coming, anyway."

Vlad gave another sigh while looking off to the side, his shoulders slumping as he realized he couldn't keep avoiding what he had set out to do. Finally, he looked back at Ryder and said seriously, "I shouldn't have let you take all the blame. That entire fiasco was my fault."

Ryder had been grimacing as he massaged the bottom of his foot, but he paused and looked up at Vlad with his head tilted to the side. "Oh, yeah, I guess it was," he agreed, nodding a little as he spoke. He wasn't sure what Vlad was getting at so he didn't question the man about it.

Instead, he stood up, cringing noticeably once he was back on his feet. The thief hobbled over to his dresser and started digging around inside of it as he mumbled over his shoulder, "It's cool, though. I didn't want you to get in trouble again. The Collector already hates your guts, y'know?"

"Yes, I know that," Vlad said, "but you did not have to take my place. I'm fully prepared to suffer the consequences to my actions. That is what gets me into so much trouble with the Curator in the first place. What I guess I am trying to say right now is that it was wrong of me to leave all the blame on you. I could have spoken up, but I didn't. We are supposed to stick together in here, and I have to admit that I haven't been acting upon that principle as of late."

Vlad stopped there, not sure how to go on. He waited anxiously for Ryder's response. For once, he didn't know how the man would react. That didn't happen very often in Vlad's life, so it unnerved him to no end. Standing there, waiting blindly for any reaction, was a daunting task for the man.

Ryder peered over at Vlad as he continued to shuffle around in his drawers, though it mostly looked like he was just shaking his arm out. He didn't say anything for a while as he silently tried to figure out what Vlad was trying to say. He was kinda talking like that robot guy in the Terminator. It was a little creepy.

"Um, don't worry about it," Ryder said uncertainly, turning his back on Vlad to focus on his hands. He shuffled around for a few seconds longer before spinning back around as he finally understood what Vlad was doing. It'd taken him a bit, but he finally got it!

A serious expression came to Ryder's face as he said, "I wanted to take your place, Vlad. You shouldn't feel bad." He grinned a little and added, "You helped me again. I wanted to thank you so...thanks!"

Vlad wanted to feel relieved, but confusion overtook that emotion as he quickly contemplated what Ryder had just said. It wasn't a surprise that Ryder wasn't making any sense. He usually never did. Still, Vlad wanted to at least scratch the surface of the the man's insanity and understand just a little. It could help him in the long run, was his excuse.

Frowning, Vlad said slowly, "I _helped_ you? I don't remember doing that. All I did was force you into implementing an escape attempt that ended horribly, might I add."

Ryder's smile widened, and he put his hands on his hips as he proudly stated, "I'm not scared anymore. Of ghosts, I mean. Small spaces...uh, I still n-need to work on that, but that's okay 'cause you helped me. That means that I can maybe get over that too someday. Maybe." The thief shook his head at the notion before saying with an open and honest face, "No one's ever been able to help before. I don't think anyone's really cared enough to try, I guess. A lotta people just give up on me, but you didn't. You actually helped. I dunno how, but you did."

He chuckled a little and reached up to tug at the stretched out collar of his shirt. "I really appreciate it, Vlad. You're a real friend, and I don't really think you're a jerk, either. Just so you know. And don't feel bad about anything. I'd take the blame again if I can." Ryder shrugged and grinned. "What're friends for, right?"

At first all Vlad could do was give Ryder an odd look. After a few seconds of thought, the man let himself express a small, wry smile and leaned against the door with his arms folded. When first arriving at the museum, Vlad would have sworn up and down that he'd never see Ryder in the light that he saw him now: as an ambitious man with passion but also respect for the people in his life. Sure, he was still insane, stubborn, overzealous, and obnoxious, but Vlad realized he could live with those aspects of Ryder if the man was so willing to listen to and respect him.

It was a big twist to Vlad's hectic, depressing day; nonetheless, it was a very pleasant twist. It took some of the weight off his shoulders and made him feel less awkward. In some small way, Vlad understood Ryder some more, and that small step forward was all that mattered.

"Well, thank you for listening to me, then," Vlad said quietly. Before he could forget, he added with a chuckle, "Also, I was never able to tell you this because you have been drugged up on pain pills for the past week or so and too delirious to comprehend a single word any of us have said, but thank you for the book. It helps...more than you can probably remember."

"Yeah," Ryder said, bobbing his head up and down in agreement. "I can't remember _anything_. I don't even remember when I got that thing." He stopped to sort through his fuzzy and incomprehensible memories from the past week, but nothing really made sense to him. All he could remember were vague spurts of random nonsense that were very unhelpful.

Ryder rolled his eyes, giving up on his mental search as he looked up at Vlad again. "But you're welcome anyway," he continued where he'd left off, looking highly pleased with himself. He would've definitely hugged Vlad if he didn't feel so icky at the moment. It was just an unpleasantly gross feeling that he would never wish on anyone else ever.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, the thief suggested, "I could get another one for you when we get out again. I found this ginormous library thing down on the first floor. It was huge! Swear it went on for miles."

"Wait," Vlad said, eyes going wide in surprise. There was a tug in his gut for whatever reason: hope, anticipation, excitement. "We found you on the second floor. Are you telling me you somehow found the first one?"

"Yeah?" Ryder said with a shrug, like the notion was no big deal. "It's not like it was hiding or anything. I used the stairs. And then I used them again to get back up here. Heh." He grinned, saying smugly, "I scared the crap out of all the ghost on that floor. It was awesome."

The thief leaned an elbow back on his still open dresser drawer, tilting his head curiously to the side again. "Why'd you ask? What's the big deal?"

Rolling his eyes, Vlad could only assume Ryder had been too scared to listen to Vlad's specific orders to find the stairs. It didn't matter now how oblivious the man was anyways. Someone had found the stairs, and that was good news in and of itself.

"That was the point of the escape attempt, Ryder," Vlad tried to explain, strained patience in his voice. "We were to find the stairs to the first floor. This means that the escape wasn't a waste at all. Do you remember where they are by any chance?"

"Of course, I do," Ryder answered, staring at Vlad as if he was insane for asking such a silly question. "It's a museum, Vlad. It's not that hard to figure out. You've been in one, you've been in them all." The man paused, eyebrows rising as he realized something.

"Wait a minute..." Ryder pointed at Vlad, a smile blooming to his face as he laughed. "You guys got caught, like, instantly, didn't you? Ha! Amateurs." Crossing his arms firmly over his chest to match Vlad's stance, the thief said, "I'm the king of hide-and-seek."

Vlad stared at Ryder, utterly bewildered. One second they were having a nice, decent conversation, and somehow in the course of a few seconds it had turned into the bragging rights of hide-and-go-seek. There were things about Ryder, Vlad decided, that he would never understand or even wanted to understand.

"We didn't get caught right away, and we were not playing hide-and-go-seek," Vlad argued before throwing his hands up and giving up with a sigh. He tried to steer the conversation back on track as he said with a smile, "What matters is that you remember where the stairs are, meaning the next time we escape we'll be a step closer to getting out of the building. That is success in my book."

"Oh." Ryder's smile widening as he shouted in realization, "Hey, you're right! I didn't even think of that! Awesome!" The thief clapped his hands delightedly. This day just kept getting better and better. Sure, he got punished and that hadn't been fun, and he did throw up a lot, but that was all okay because Vlad was happy with him. He'd done two big, important things today all on his own.

"Man, this is awesome. This is awesome, Vlad. So awesome!" Grinning widely, the thief looked up at the halfa and said sincerely, "Thanks again, Vlad. I wouldn't have found the stairs if you hadn't helped me."

After releasing a relenting sigh, Vlad said quietly, "You're welcome, Mr. Walker."

At that point, Vlad had said everything he had set out to tell Ryder. He believed that any more conversation would just lead to more bizarre awkwardness. To avoid that, he decided to make his leave. Turning around, Vlad grasped the doorknob and opened the door to the cabin as he said over to Ryder, "Well, I just came in here to-."

Vlad stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the two eavesdroppers at the cabin's doorstep who hadn't escaped fast enough to avoid getting caught. The man's surprise and embarrassment quickly turned into agitation as he frowned down at Danny and Melody while crossing his arms over his chest. It was obvious that he was not pleased, but it wasn't like he could condemn their actions. In truth, he should have expected this from the two.

Straightening up from his crouched position, Danny stuffed his hands into his pockets and gave Vlad an innocent smile in return to his angry scowl. "Uh...hi," he greeted the man, pulling a hand from his pocket to wave awkwardly. He gave a slightly nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "That was really nice, Vlad...helping Ryder with his problem...I mean, I thought it was nice, anyway. Not that we were listening or anything. Melody just...lost her earring, and we were trying to find it..."

As the teen strove to continue with his rapidly failing lie, Ryder peered around Vlad's side, grinning widely from ear-to-ear. Somehow, in a matter of only a few seconds, he'd managed to change his outfit completely. "Melody lost something?" the thief asked curiously. "Can I help find it?"

Melody punched Danny in the arm, shaking her head in dissatisfaction as she told him, "You're the worst liar ever."

"Eavesdropping, are we?" Vlad said, vexation evident in his voice. He didn't appreciate having the two overhear his recent conversation with Ryder. The entire reason why he struck up the conversation in the cabin in the first place was to make it private. Still, there wasn't much he could do now, and that's what bothered him.

"Like you wouldn't have done the same," Melody said cockily before diving under Vlad's outstretched arm keeping the door open to get to Ryder. Grinning madly at the thief, the girl said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "Hey, I'm glad you're okay. You are okay, right?"

"Oh yeah! I'm fine!" Ryder answered, eagerly returning the hug without hesitation. He didn't notice how pissed Vlad had gotten because Melody was smiling and Danny was smiling too; though it definitely looked weird, it was still a smile. Squeezing Melody extra tight from his happiness, Ryder proclaimed, "I found the stairs!"

"Yeah, we heard that," Danny said, grinning as he leaned to the side to see the two thieves hug it out. The teen stopped, glanced up at Vlad, and hesitantly corrected himself, "I mean...we didn't hear anything. Nothing at all."

"Likely story," Vlad muttered down at Danny as he pushed past the teen and headed for the picnic tables. The last thing he wanted that day was to get involved with a hug-fest.

"Don't mind Vlad," Melody said with a mischievous grin. "Being nice imbalanced his usual grumpy levels, so he has to make up for it by being mean to even himself out."

Vlad glared ahead in annoyance before putting on a snarky smile and saying over his shoulder, "At least I'm not the one who is going to reek of Ryder and vomit for the next week."

"Ew," Melody said, screwing up her nose in disgust. She stepped away from Ryder, saying, "He has a point."

"Hey, I put on a new shirt," Ryder defended himself, subconsciously reaching down to pull at the shirt and sniff it experimentally. He didn't smell anything, but he guessed he couldn't really smell his own smell even though he'd never thought that he smelled bad. He guessed it was because he got so nervous being stuck in the display case all the time and that made him get all sweaty.

The thief let his shirt go and shrugged innocently as he said, "I don't think I smell, but I did throw up. That one wasn't my fault, though!"

Shaking his head, Danny said, "Just ignore him, Ryder." He glanced back at Vlad and teasingly added, "Melody's right. Vlad's just trying to even himself out."

Before the teen could see Vlad's reaction, the breath was driven from his lungs as Ryder lunged forward to hug him tightly like he'd just done to Melody. Danny could only blink in surprise for a moment before holding his breath and returning the hug. No matter how smelly the guy could be, he deserved a hug for all he'd done. And if getting stinky himself made Ryder happy, then Danny wasn't going to complain.

"Now that the worry has worn off, I'm starving," Melody said, grinning down at Danny as she waltzed past him and Ryder hugging.

She soon caught up with Vlad in the food line. Nudging him with her elbow as the ghost lady plopped their usual mush onto their trays, she told him quietly, "That was pretty cool of you back there, ya know?"

Vlad raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the girl. Despite his lack of reaction, Melody glanced up at the man and said with a calm smile, "You might not care that much, but what you did meant a lot to Ryder. He's not the most bearable of people in here. I should I know. I share a display case with him. But you did help him despite all that...and you were right. He's an adult and I shouldn't treat him like he's a kid."

Suddenly grabbing her tray and turning to walk away, she told him quickly and coldly over her shoulder, "Just don't let the pride of it all get to your head. You don't need anymore. Your skull might pop from all the hot air. Then where would we be?"

Vlad frowned back at Melody in irritated bafflement before realizing that last scathingly teasing part was only one her defense mechanisms against showing any of her vulnerable side. "Figures," Vlad muttered with a brief smile. He was just happy the girl knew how not to make the conversation awkward.

-Two Days Later-

Danny glared at the ground, gritting his teeth as he felt sweat building up across his forehead. The teen still wasn't quite sure how he'd gotten dragged into this situation, but here he was. Grinding his jaw, Danny painfully raised his head up to look at Vlad who was in the same position as he was across from him.

The two half-ghosts were on the ground, holding their bodies up by their forearms, elbows, and feet in a very similar position to a push-up. But this wasn't a push-up. Danny didn't know what this was called, but it was killing his abdomen and back and, heck, pretty much every muscle in his body at this point. And they'd just started.

Straining his neck back, Danny looked further up to see the unhappy looking Collector standing over him and Vlad to oversee their current punishment. The ghost wasn't saying anything, but his displeasure was clear in his expression and the way he was standing.

Danny dropped his head back down so he was staring at the ground as he growled at Vlad through his strained breathing, "I b-blame you for this."

Glancing up at the teen as Danny's comment cut off his concentration, Vlad grimaced as he retorted, "I don't see how this was all my fault. You didn't have to follow me as the doors closed."

The man had to close his eyes to mentally fight off the pain rippling along his abdomen and shoulders before he was able to add, "If anything, you're the one to blame. You have an uncanny knack for getting caught very quickly. I don't know how you do it."

"You totally gave me a sign," Danny shot back, arms trembling badly as he struggled to hold himself up. The scary thing was that even though he wanted to collapse, he knew he couldn't. The Collector had told them not to move, and that meant no matter how bad this hurt, he couldn't stop until the ghost said so.

The teen's breath hissed in between his teeth as he swiftly continued, "You looked right at me just when you decided to go all Indiana Jones on me!" Danny closed his eyes and gritted out, "And, yeah, my luck is terrible, I get it, but I was the one who got us to the stupid Loony Toons plates!"

"Which always seems to be the place you get caught," Vlad grumbled back through gritted teeth. "Honestly, I won't be surprised if they station a guard there just for you to bump into." After saying this, Vlad glanced up at the glowering Collector with a slight smirk, as if daring him to take his advice.

The Curator simply frowned back at Vlad and crossed his arms over his chest as he murmured, "You will remain in this manner for five minutes longer than I originally planned. Congratulations." Though he was scowling, the ghost couldn't help but silently consider Vlad's statement. The halfa did have a point, after all.

"Oh, great," Danny groaned, squeezing his eyes tighter shut than before. He already felt like he was going to die, and now he was going to stay there longer than before. "Thanks, Vlad. Really awesome. He's probably gonna do that now."

Vlad looked back down at his hands, watching as a bead of sweat dripped off his forehead and dropped to the ground. "Guess it will just give us more of a challenge, then," he said with a devilish grin.

Glancing up again when Danny didn't respond, Vlad noticed how in pain Danny was in. He was having a much harder time with the punishment than Vlad was. Throughout his years, Vlad had gotten used to exercises that consisted of mind over matter. So although their current situation was incredibly painful, Vlad knew techniques to help himself. From the look on Danny's face and the way the teen was shaking, it didn't look like he was making it through unscathed.

"Hey," Vlad said with quiet firmness to Danny, "Stop focusing on your body. Think of something else that is brain stimulating. It helps."

Danny raised his head quickly to give Vlad a confused look before he dropped it again. It hurt way worse to do that. "I-I can't think," the teen gasped out, shaking his head to get rid of the dripping sweat stinging his eyes. His chest shuddered as he desperately wished that he could just fall down - that the torture would stop - but he knew it wouldn't. That thought scared him more than it probably should have. He couldn't think of anything else but the pain.

The boy shook his head again, keeping his eyes firmly shut as he whimpered, "It h-hurts too much."

"I know, but that does not mean you can't think of anything else," Vlad said, watching Danny with a grimace. It was hard seeing the teen so bad off. In times of stress and pain, Danny was always the first to put on a brave face. Seeing him struggle was new for Vlad.

"And I'm sure you've experienced worse in the past, being a superhero and all," Vlad went on. "Think of that, as an example. Think of your past fights and experiences since becoming a half ghost. What fight do you think started it all? There has to be some point when you realized you could use your powers for something other than just for fun and play."

"Ug, y'mean the first day?" Danny muttered back, opening his eyes to glare down at his hands. He couldn't help but remember that day he'd fought the ecto-pus things, back when he'd just became a half-ghost. He also couldn't help but think of who had sent those ghosts to his home in the first place.

Vlad had been responsible for that...so did that mean he wouldn't have become a superhero if it wasn't for Vlad? Would he still have decided to fight for what he believed in if Vlad hadn't sent those ghosts to his house immediately after he gained his ghostly abilities and shown him that he could fight?

Looking up at Vlad with eyes narrowed in pain, Danny grunted, "I know what started it all. Your stupid ecto-pus ghosts. That was...that was when I knew I had to do something with my powers." The teen gritted his jaw and looked back down again, panting, "I never used them for fun and play. I never had a chance to. I couldn't even control them at the beginning."

"That makes two of us, then," Vlad said, grinning slightly at his own embarrassing memories from when he first started out with his ghost powers. The first month had been the worst. Because the transformation was still trying to regulate the ghost genes out in the physical body, random spurts of ghost energy would leek out without any warning, causing chaos and many long nights of confusion. Vlad could only assume it had been the same way for Danny in the beginning.

"There were a few nights where I actually woke up phasing through my bed and floor," Vlad told Danny. "Falling into your neighbor's apartment downstairs is never a pleasant experience; neither for you or for them, might I add. I'm still surprised you've kept your secret from your parents for this long. Jack is oblivious enough to never notice if an elephant was living in his kitchen, but it's not that way with Maddie. She was always very perceptive."

Pressing his lips together, Vlad realized he'd probably said a little bit more than he'd wanted too. To make up for this, he quickly added in a casual tone, "Fortunately, I was not living under my parent's roof at the time when my transformation happened. Although...I don't think it would have mattered."

Danny looked back up at Vlad again, surprise etched across his sweaty face. He was more shocked by Vlad's disclosure about his powers than he was angry about the shot at his dad. Even since they'd been in the museum, the man had never said anything so personal or something that hit so close to home for Danny.

Danny knew exactly how the guy felt about his powers. He'd been there. Sheesh, he was _still_ there sometimes.

Smiling a little, Danny muttered through a breathless chuckle, "I don't know how many times I fell into the living room. M-my parents would always run downstairs with the Fenton Anti-Creep sticks, and I'd have to hide from them until they went away." He glanced at the man and added, his smile straining as his forearms burned, "So I don't think you missed anything there."

"Well, at least for you the bat remained only a threat," Vlad muttered, still a bit bitter from the one time he'd phased through some innocent college girl's roof, got mistaken as a robber, and proceeded to get hit over the head a few times with a tennis racket until he turned invisible and escaped.

Danny couldn't help it; he laughed. It sounded more like a pained coughing sound, but the smile on his face told Vlad that it was indeed laughter. "I don't even wanna know," the teen said, shaking his head slowly. He paused before adding, "Alright, I do, but some things are better left unsaid."

He dropped his head again, cringing noticeably at a particularly bad twinge of his muscles. Danny realized that if they stopped talking, the pain was going to come back. He really couldn't let that happen.

Desperate to escape the pain, Danny quickly asked Vlad without looking at him, "Are your parents...are they still around? Like do you go visit them?"

Vlad's face was expressionless as he continued to stare down at his hands, contemplating his answer. Finally, he said quietly, "Yes, they are still living, but...no. I don't visit them." The man heaved a somber sigh before saying, "It's been a long time since I've talked to them."

"Oh," Danny mumbled, his voice quiet enough to almost be lost under his strained breathing. He would've shifted uncomfortably if he'd been able to move. Actually, he would've fallen to the floor if he'd been able to move. The boy swallowed hard, peeking up at Vlad again.

The man looked like he wasn't trying to look upset even though he actually did. That was weird. Vlad never looked...sad. That's what it was. He actually sort of looked sad. That thought alone totally blew Danny's mind.

From what he'd pieced together so far, he knew that Vlad's parents hadn't been very good at parenting, but what could they possibly have done that was so bad? Danny knew that he'd never just stop talking to his parents when he left the house. He'd do his best to stay in contact with them, but Vlad obviously didn't share that sentiment.

"Do they...do they try to talk to you?" he hesitantly asked the man.

Vlad looked up with a tinge of exasperation on his face, finally catching Danny's eye. He wondered why the boy had suddenly become so interested in his obviously strained relationship with his parents, but he guessed he couldn't really blame Danny. He'd told the teen to think of something else other than their punishment, and it looked like this subject was that other thing. Like it or not, Vlad would have to keep the conversation going by answering.

"Heavens no," Vlad said with an acrid smile. Slightly shaking his head, he said, "No. I don't think they will ever try to contact me again. They can be quite stubborn in that area."

"Guess that's where you get it from," Danny replied, eyebrows furrowing in sympathy though he tried to smile a little so Vlad wouldn't notice. He grimaced and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm his breathing so that he could actually keep talking.

He honestly never would've thought that Vlad would open up like this. No matter how much pain he was in and how creepy the Collector was being, he wanted to keep this conversation going.

The boy recovered his breath and met Vlad's gaze again as he quietly asked, "Did you have a fight with them? Is that why they don't talk to you?"

"You have to understand, Danny, that my parents had a very precise vision of what they wanted me to be," Vlad said, a little out of breath from holding his body up for so long. After a short pause to decipher how much of his past he wanted to tell Danny, Vlad said thoughtfully, "And because I was their son and just as stubborn, I wanted to plot out my own future. Studying ghosts and being an inventor was something I wanted, which inevitably clashed with their wishes. After many years of debating with them, I decided the only way to gain my freedom would be by separating myself from them completely. Since then, we've rarely contacted each other, and it is probably best if it stays that way."

"But...they're your parents-" Danny started only to break off just as fast. He didn't want to just say the first thing that came to mind like he usually did. That always seemed to make Vlad angry. Of course, a lot of things made Vlad angry, but Danny knew for certain that he needed to think before he spoke right now.

After a long pause, Danny finally nodded a little. "No...I guess I understand," he murmured, his pinched expression thoughtful. "I wouldn't want my parents to tell me what I can be, either."

He looked down at the ground, knowing that Vlad probably knew what he was talking about because he was older, but he still felt the urge to try and reason with the man about his parent issue. You only got one set of real parents in your life...it must have been terrible to not be able to see them at all.

The teen released a tight breath, rolled his eyes at himself, and said slowly, "It's not my business but, I mean, I don't know them or anything so I can't really..." Danny sighed and stopped to regain his thoughts. Once he had, he gingerly continued, "It's not like they can make you do anything anymore. You're an adult and rich and stuff. They can't still be mad at you, can they? Like...can't you get along now?"

"No," Vlad said, shaking his head as his mind was unwillingly filled with visions and emotions of his past. "I only tried once to reconnect with them, but they shut the door in my face. In the end, the only thing we agreed on was that we disagreed, and even that was a hard pill to swallow for them."

Vlad could perfectly picture his 17-year-old self that day he packed his one and only bag and walked out of his father's house forever. He remembered his drunk mother telling him he was never going to make it without them, that scathing smirk on her face as she held her martini glass in her usual jaunty style. The clear memory of his father's face in his own was embedded into Vlad's brain. His father had been so angry that his face had been close to the color purple with rage. Even in the present, Vlad wondered how he had made it out of the house physically unharmed.

Walking away from everything he knew had been the most terrifying thing he had ever done, yet to this day Vlad knew it was the best decision of his life.

Vlad almost wanted to go back, to return to that time when the world made sense. A time when he knew the difference between right and wrong. He hadn't wanted success back then; his only goal in life had been to gain knowledge, truth, and freedom. Mentally and morally he had been so strong and stable. It wasn't that way now, though, especially since being captured. He was confused now more than ever.

Danny remained silent after Vlad had spoken. All he could do was look over at the man and press his lips firmly together in sympathy. He'd never really taken the time to think about where Vlad had come from. All he'd ever thought about was the man's present attitude and behavior. He'd never thought that...

"I'm sorry," the teen murmured, his voice holding all of the sympathy and sadness he was currently feeling towards Vlad. He'd always, in some way, pitied Vlad, but this was different. He didn't just feel bad, but he wanted to help in some way. He just wished that he knew how.

"I...I know that doesn't help..." Danny continued, lowering his eyes to the floor. "...but I'm still sorry."

Glancing up at Danny's sympathetic words, Vlad saw that the teen actually meant what he had said. Although his face was lowered, Vlad knew Danny's feelings had been honest. He'd always been an easy one to read. Vlad knew that he should have gotten angry that the teen now felt sorry for him, but that emotion didn't come. Instead, he felt appreciative.

Summoning a small smile, Vlad told Danny, "That's alright. I'm surprised you didn't know this already, though. I've told the entire story to your parents."

"I never really asked," Danny admitted, warily peeking up at Vlad again. He'd been expecting anger, but the smile came as a shocking surprise. The boy didn't want to question it. He was just happy that the man wasn't mad at him.

Danny grimaced as he added, "I think they probably would've told me if I did ask, though." His eyes shifted away from Vlad again, his eyebrows furrowing as he quietly said, "I guess I never thought about how good of friends you guys were back then. You were kinda like...me and my friends."

"I guess so," was all Vlad could say as he looked back down. He gave a grimace as the pain from his punishment snuck back into his mind. It was becoming rather hard to keep his body upright, and yet he couldn't get out of it.

Talking about his parents was one thing, but straying into the subject of Jack and Maddie was another category altogether. Remembering his parents and what they did to him only resulted in the feeling of freedom because of how he eventually escaped from them. On the other end of the spectrum, Vlad knew he had never escaped from his bitterness towards the accident that changed his life forever.

Before being captured, Vlad had believed these feelings toward the Fentons had never been detrimental. If anything, they spurred him on to do more and be more ambitious. After many weeks of captivity, though, Vlad wasn't so sure where he stood on the subject. These days the bitterness only succeeded in making him depressed, confused, and frustrated with himself.

"I, uh...I don't think that friendship ever goes away," Danny's soft voice intruded upon Vlad's pensive thoughts. The teen's breathing was getting sharper, and the trembling in his arms had gotten worse. At this point in their punishment, even talking couldn't make the pain go away. Danny could tell it was finally getting to Vlad, and he wanted to do what he could to try and make that feeling stop.

Straining to keep his voice steady, Danny forged on, "Wh-when you make really good friends. You c-can tell them anyth-thing. Doesn't matter what it is. I th-think when you do that, the feelings c-can't go away no matter what happens." He squeezed his eyes shut, squeezing his hands into tighter fists from the agony assaulting his muscles.

"G-guess I'm just trying...trying to say they're still your friends...even i-if you don't think so."

By this time, Vlad was having difficulty breathing just like Danny was. Through gritted teeth, he said as nicely as possible yet with great finality, "I know you...mean will, Daniel." He paused, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought off the pain stabbing up his gut and running down his shaking shoulders and arms. "But this...this is the part where I...kindly tell you to be quiet and...and to change the subject."

Danny looked up at Vlad, having to squint his eyes to see through the tears of pain building in his eyes. He knew that Vlad meant business by his tone so he decided not to say anymore about the topic of his parents. Although he was upset that he obviously hadn't been able to help, he tried not to let it get to him as he forced a pained grin to his face.

"H-how can I...be quiet and change...change the subject at the same time?" he curiously asked Vlad.

Shaking his head in a silent chuckle, Vlad glared back up at Danny, saying teasingly, "This is...not the time to get...impudent."

"Speaking of time," the Collector said, interrupting the two half-ghosts before Danny could shoot back a joking retort. He glanced down at the golden watch on his wrist and murmured, "It would seem your punishment is over. Though I would love to continue to observe you, I am a man of my word. _You may move, halfas_."

Letting out a gasping groan, Danny's arms instantly crumpled beneath him, and he hit the floor with a soft thud. He curled into a ball, eyes clenched shut as he gulped in desperate breaths of air to calm his burning abdominal muscles. No matter how badly he wanted to curse at the Collector, he couldn't breathe easily enough to do it just yet.

In the same fashion as Danny, Vlad collapsed to the ground before rolling onto his back, greedily gasping air as he closed his eyes. His muscles felt like rubber. Even if he wanted to get up, Vlad wasn't so sure if he could manage the task. The man cringed as he thought about how sore he was going to be for the next few days.

Letting out one last sigh to steady his breathing, Vlad opened his eyes and glared up at the Collector, waiting for the next set of orders. He was afraid that if he said anything now they'd only get punished some more, and that was the last thing him and Danny needed that evening.

The Curator gazed silently back down at Vlad, his eyes narrowed in thought. He seemed highly interested in their current discomfort. Being a ghost, he didn't know what muscle pain felt like. He'd read many books on the subject and that was how he'd come up with the punishment, but seeing the effects of it firsthand on his displays was more than intriguing.

Experimentally, the ghost gestured at the half-ghosts and said, "Get up."

Because the Collector hadn't used his power to order them to stand, Danny just rolled over onto his side, clutching his stomach as he shot a tired glare at the ghost. Dropping his eyes, the teen looked over to Vlad and croaked, "I don't think I can move...what about you?"

"No," Vlad said with a wince. Even breathing hurt after holding himself up for that long. Any muscle that made the man use his abdomen was in a tight knot of pain, which would intensity tenfold if he accidentally moved it.

"That...makes two of us, then," Danny panted as he pressed his forehead against the floor to cool his burning skin. He'd been in too many ghost fights to count, but this pain definitely hurt the worst because he'd done it to himself. He really didn't want to think about how he was going to feel tomorrow.

Leaning over the two halfas, the Collector examined them both for a minute before straightening back up and clearing his throat. He honestly wasn't quite sure what to do with them. Obviously, they were in pain, but that was what he'd wanted to happen during the punishment. However, they both seemed unable and unwilling to move. He could easily make them do so with his power, but would that cause them actual damage?

Though he was sounded very uncertain, the ghost looked down on Vlad and Danny and ordered, "_Stand up_."

Danny closed his eyes, silently crying out in outrage as his body answered the Collector's words for him. He literally felt like a puppet being pulled upright by strings as he slowly rose to his feet. Of course, the pain only seemed to get worse once he was standing, and he instantly reached out to grab onto Vlad's arm once the man had been forced to stand beside him. He really hoped Vlad didn't mind because he wasn't sure if he could stay standing without his help.

Raising an eyebrow curiously, the Collector shook his head, saying, "_Now we will return to your room. Walk_."

Gritting his teeth as the command forced him to move, Vlad turned toward the door to the room and slowly began to walk toward it. With every step, pain flared up in their stomachs. Danny practically had to be dragged along as the two halfas gradually walked down the hallway, the Curator monitoring them from behind. Vlad had to go at a snail's pace to prevent hurting himself too much, and he had to keep Danny in mind as well. The teen had to be in a pretty bad state if he was willing to hang onto Vlad to keep himself upright. Even with the help, Vlad could see Danny was in extreme pain by the time they were half way back to the room. Vlad had to admit he was too, but he was afraid the strain would hurt Danny if he was pushed too far.

"We need a break," Vlad said over his shoulder to the Collector. "Just let us rest for a few minutes."

The ghost frowned worriedly at hearing Vlad's words before glancing down at the surprisingly quiet teen. Vlad was right. This was hurting the half-ghosts in a way that he did not want.

"Yes," the Collector agreed, nodding a little. He stopped and said, "_You may rest_."

Upon hearing the ghost's voice, Danny's legs came to an immediate halt and trembled violently. Somehow, he managed to force them to stay straight as he tightened his hold on Vlad's arm for support. Panting hard, the boy leaned his upper body forward to lessen the pain stabbing his stomach. If possible, walking hurt worse than the punishment itself had.

Struggling to regain his breath, Danny managed to gasp, "S-sorry, Vlad. I can't...I can't stand up." Grimacing, the teen glanced up at Vlad, worry clear in his eyes. He was afraid that the man would just shove him away and tell him to walk on his own and stop using him as a crutch.

Despite all of Danny's concerns about being thrown aside, Vlad behaved in the opposite way the teen expected. Gently guiding Danny to the nearest wall, Vlad said through a grimace, "That's alright, Daniel. Just...just rest for a while."

As the two leaned against the wall to catch their breath, Vlad glanced down at Danny with a thin frown. The teen had been ready to suffer all the way to the end of their walk. He hadn't expected a break and never asked for one. Although not physically strong, Vlad had noticed Danny's mental endurance. It was that stamina and stubbornness about never giving up that had made him such a worthy opponent at times; the same thing that reminded Vlad of himself when he was the boy's age.

In a strange way, Vlad felt a little proud of Danny. Here the teen was, hardly a high school student and barely making his superhero name famous, and suddenly he had been ripped forcefully away from everything he loved and knew to be imprisoned with his arch enemy in a strange museum. Sure, he complained too much, avoided confrontation like it was his job, and basically acted his age, but never once had Danny been daunted by the task of escaping, its punishments, and the Collector himself. In the short time that Vlad knew Danny, he'd never seen the boy so weak and yet so strong all at the same time.

With a short sigh, Vlad suddenly realized how much he truly didn't know about the boy. The man could know every fact about Danny, how to manipulate him, and predict the teen's actions down to a tee, but he never knew Danny on a deeper, personal level like Sam and Tucker did. It just went to show Vlad how much he truly didn't understand.

Looking up to get his mind off Danny, Vlad's eyes fell on the Collector who was watching them intently. He stared wordlessly back at the ghost, unwillingly allowing himself to be examined in such a vulnerable state. He hated the feeling. Gut wrenching at the emotion, Vlad winced again as it caused more pain in his abdomen.

While Vlad was looking over at the Collector, Danny took the chance to shoot a quick glance up at the man. Even through the massive amounts of pain he was feeling, the teen was incredibly shocked by Vlad's actions. Not only had Vlad helped him walk, but he hadn't been mean about it. And, to top it all off, the man had actually opened up to him for a little bit. Sure, it hadn't been under the best of circumstances, but it was something.

A couple of days ago, Danny had all but given up on Vlad, but now he had hope again that things were changing for the better. The emotion brought a slight smile to the teen's face before he lowered his head and focused back on his strained breathing. The wall was helping to give him support, but he had to struggle to keep his back pressed up against it which resulted in his abdominal muscles aching in pain. The feeling even stretched all around his midsection to stab at his back.

He tried not to show his pain by keeping his face turned away and his eyes on his sneakers. Even though he knew it was totally obvious that he was being weak, he wanted to try and stay strong in front of Vlad and the Collector. That was his motivation at the moment. Danny wanted to prove to them both that he wasn't as weak as he looked.

Once he felt able to talk, Danny raised his head again and looked up at Vlad, flashing an exhausted smile. "Thanks for...talking, Vlad. It...it helped," the teen said quietly. He paused for a moment, his tired grin growing a little as he jokingly suggested, "You can ask me questions now if you want."

"Mmm. Delightful," Vlad said with a strained, sarcastic smile. "Because we're all in the mood for an interview on you right now." He paused, smile fading slowly before he glanced down at Danny and said quietly, "You're welcome, though."

Danny's eyebrows rose in concern when Vlad looked down at him. He couldn't tell if the man's tone was sincere or upset, but he felt that something was wrong if he'd just gone from sarcastic to serious in a matter of seconds. _Maybe it was just saying 'you're welcome' too many times in such a short amount of time_, the teen caught himself thinking with an internal smirk.

Shifting his footing so he didn't slip, Danny hesitantly asked Vlad, "You alright? I mean...as alright as we can be at the moment."

"Oh, I'm fine," Vlad lied with a convincing smile. Staring out down the hallway to avoid looking at both Danny and the Collector, the man admitted with a sigh, "Looking back on my life under my parents' control is not the most uplifting of subjects, to be quite honest." With a wave of his hand, Vlad dashed the issue away as he said nonchalantly, "But that is all in the past. Nothing you should be concerned about."

"Okay then," Danny slowly replied, scrutinizing Vlad's expression with narrowed eyes. He was pretty sure that he knew the man well enough by now to somewhat know when he was lying. He wasn't an expert just yet, but he had hope that he would be some day.

The teen smiled a little, shaking his head as he murmured, "You're usually a better liar, Vlad." Not giving the man time to respond, Danny straightened up and pushed himself unsteadily away from the wall as he looked up at the Collector.

"Let's do this," Danny said with a firm expression. He waited for the Collector to nod for him to continue before he began to trudge his way down the hallway towards their room. He had to admit he felt pretty awesome walking by himself...though, he was positive it looked completely ridiculous.

"And now he's an expert on all things lying," Vlad grumbled sarcastically before pushing off the wall and following after Danny. He stuck close to the boy incase Danny needed some support, but it didn't look like he needed any this time. Vlad was thankful about that. Walking without having Danny on his arm was much easier. It still hurt, but it was manageable.

Though it took the group much longer than normal to reach their destination, they managed to make it there without anymore rest stops. Once they arrived back at the main door, the Curator stepped past the half-ghosts and pressed his hand to a flat, silver panel beside the door. After hearing a soft whirring sound, the doors slid open, and the ghost gently nudged Vlad and Danny into the room.

The Collector paused for only a moment to inspect the pair before he quietly said, "Behave." Without another word, the doors closed in their faces.

Danny looked up at Vlad, grimacing as he hunched forward to take the pressure of his burning midsection. "I'm gonna regret walking on my own tomorrow," he admitted sounding breathless again. "Just so you know."

Vlad was still staring at the door with an odd look on his face, as if trying to figure out if he wanted to be angry or laugh about what the Collector just told them to do. Eventually he settled with an uneasy smile and a shake of his head before returning his attention to Danny's comment.

"And who's fault was that?" Vlad said with an evil smile.

Danny rolled his eyes and answered with a mutter, "Mine." He stuck a hand over his stomach as he said, "I just wanted to show that I could do it...and I figured you didn't want to worry about dragging me around, anyway."

The teen decided to leave it at that as he looked away from Vlad. He wouldn't mention that he didn't want to test how far Vlad's niceness levels could go. The man had been doing pretty good today, and Danny didn't want to ruin that. It'd been awesome to be able to rely on Vlad for help for once, but he wasn't going to see if he could do it twice in one day. He just didn't want to be disappointed.

"All too true," Vlad said, placing his hands on his knees to give his stomach a chance to rest. Looking up at the picnic tables where Melody and Ryder sat, Vlad said seriously, "That conversation we had back there was rather personal. I don't usually relay that kind of private information to others. I would appreciate it if it remained between us. Alright?" The man looked down over to Danny to see his response.

Danny brought his eyes back to Vlad and frowned a little. He could understand the man's concern, but it wasn't like he was going to go tell anyone. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that the conversation had been a private one. And, really, why would he even go tell Melody and Ryder? There'd be no point in that besides betraying Vlad's trust that he'd been working so hard to earn.

The teen tried not to look too offended as he nodded in agreement and quietly said, "I wasn't planning on putting it on a billboard, Vlad."

"You can never be too sure," Vlad said stonily. He glanced to the floor in thought before putting on a brave, stoic face and saying, "I don't know about you, but I'm famished. Come on. Let's eat some dinner." Straightening up, Vlad began to walk forward, muttering as he went, "Ryder better not try to hug me, or I swear I'll kick him."

After a pause, Danny slowly followed Vlad, shaking his head in silent amusement. "I hope you wore your Ryder kicking shoes, then," he stated with a smirk.

A/N: Fun stuff. Looks like Danny and Vlad are semi getting along for the moment. I wonder how long that will last. We'll see. Anyways, I'm ahead in my editing, and I seem to be on a roll, so I'm just gonna post with another chapter later this weekend. Like Sunday or Monday. I'll see you awesome readers then!


	18. Chapter 18 Cracks in the Facade

A/N: Goodness gracious! I'm on a role here with this updating on time and when I say I am! Feels like I haven't done this in a long time. Ha ha! Anyways, I've got a few things to say in this author's note, then I'll let you enjoy the chapter.

First, ML and I are getting mixed reviews on the pace of this fic. Some are loving the character development and slow pace, others are criticizing how long the fic is taking and are demanding for a speedier plot, and others haven't mentioned anything at all on the plot. I'd like to say now that we're already done writing the fic, but there will be no editing to make it shorter. We both think this fic is about the characters more than the overall escaping plot. I'm really sorry if that disappoints some of you readers, but ML and I have made up our minds as writers. To shorten anything would take away from the heart of the fic, and we can't please everyone. That's one of the downsides of being a writer.

Second and lastly, I just want to say that this is or at least one of my favorite chapters of the entire fic. It's actually a major turning point in the plot for two major characters. Fun stuff! Anyways, I just wanted to say that 'cause I'm a dork and I get excited. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. Everything else is ours.

Previous In The Collector: Vlad sort of apologized in his own weird way to Ryder, we discover that Ryder had found the stairs, and, to Danny's amazement, Vlad opens up to the boy about his past and his strict parents during a punishment.

Chapter 18 Cracks in the Facade

"Man. I am _way_ sweatier than usual right now."

Danny, Vlad, and Melody all glanced over to Ryder from their positions sprawled around the various picnic tables before rolling their eyes and looking away. After yet another failed escape attempt, the group had been forced to spend the night in a room designed specifically to stay extremely warm and muggy at all times. Needless to say, it hadn't been a pleasant experience for any of them.

Danny grimaced as he pulled his sweat soaked shirt away from his skin only for it to snap back into place one he'd let it go. "At least we didn't die of heat stroke," he grumbled under his breath and proceeded to thunk his head down onto the tabletop. "...Or Ryder's BO," the teen added in a mumble.

Ryder raised his hand from his position on the floor and retorted loudly, "Scent of a man, Danny!"

"This wouldn't be a problem if I could take a shower right now," Melody growled out from her table, glaring heatedly at Ryder. She was furiously trying to calm down her hair that had frizzed out to three times its actual size from the massive amount of humidity. She gave a stressed sigh as all her fretting and brushing did nothing to quell the volume.

"But someone had to 'surprise' us by dismantling the pipes in both our bathrooms," Vlad muttered resentfully as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Hey! It was gonna be awesome!" Ryder protested as he rolled over onto his stomach and splayed his arms out in front of his head. He jabbed his hands to the right as he said, "We were all gonna come out of our display cases, and the room was gonna be flooded!" The thief threw his hands to the left as he rapidly continued, "And I was gonna say 'Oh, _water_ surprise!"

"And how exactly was that gonna get us out of the room?" Danny questioned as he turned his head to the side to breathe.

Ryder was silent for a moment as he shifted his fingers nervously. Eventually, he mumbled, "I never got that far in the planning process."

"That's a shocker," Vlad said with unenthusiastic sarcasm.

As if not hearing any of them, Melody continued to run her fingers through her hair in despair and uttered a depressed groan. Glancing over to the girl, Vlad made a face before stating, "It is just hair, Miss Hart. Stop fretting so much over it."

"_Excuse me_?"

Vlad sighed, glaring upward as he asked, "What did I say wrong this time?"

"It's my _hair_!"

"Your point exactly?"

"Gawd, Vlad! Hair can define a girl. You should know that by now, you being so old and all. My hair is important...for many reasons."

Although his eyebrows furrowed together in irritation at the stab at his age, Vlad didn't respond with much emotion or care. Closing his tired eyes, Vlad asked her, "What would you do if it was cut?"

"Don't even mention something as horrible as that," Melody shot back in mortification.

"You really should know that, Vlad," Danny interrupted, nodding in agreement to what Melody had said. "You must've been young at...one..." the boy gradually faded off, his eyebrows crashing together as he slowly sat upright. His eyes were locked straight ahead, staring at something only he could see.

He was silent for a moment before he snapped back into reality and shook his head, gaze shooting around the room as if seeing it for the first time. A bit of fear and panic entered his eyes as he turned and stared in horror at Vlad before looking over at Melody and then down to Ryder in utter confusion.

"Wait, what's going on?" Danny demanded, shoving himself out of his seat so he could keep his distance from Vlad. The teen glanced around quickly before he threw his arms to the side and yelled, "Where the heck am I?"

Lifting his head to look over his chest at the teen, Vlad asked, not in the least bit amused, "Is this a joke?"

"No. Can't you see?" Melody said, giving Danny a brief, strange look. "He's finally snapped." Proud of her mean, little comment, Melody smiled devilishly to herself as she went back to fruitlessly doing her hair.

Ryder propped himself up on his elbows so he could also see the crazed looking Danny, and he softly questioned, "Did Danny get put on medication too?"

Danny's eyes snapped in Melody and Ryder's direction again, and he moved away from them, holding his hands up. "Who're you? How do you two know my name?" he asked quickly, keeping a wary eye on Vlad's movements.

"Because...you told us?" Ryder answered, sounding baffled.

Just before Danny could panic too much, he stopped moving and stared ahead again for a few moments before blinking. The teen's eyes came back into focus as he looked down at the confused faces of the group. "Uh...why are you guys staring at me?" Danny said, pointing back at the others as he arched an eyebrow. "Is there something on my face?"

Just as confused as Ryder, Vlad asked Danny warily as he sat up on his elbows, "Are you feeling alright, Danny?"

"I'm telling you," Melody said with a mean smile, "he's snapped."

"You're not helping," Vlad told her dryly.

Danny shot Melody a bewildered look as he rubbed the back of his neck. He brought his eyes back to Vlad and slowly answered, "Yeah, I feel fine. Why?"

Ryder peeked over the table at the boy as he said, "You were saying crazy things."

His eyebrow rising further than before, Danny questioned, "Like what? I was just sitting at the table...but now I'm standing over here...somehow. That's...uh, that's weird." Danny frowned and looked down at the ground, surprised to find himself standing when he'd been sitting down only moments ago. He lifted his feet up and checked the bottoms of his shoes as if that would solve his mystery, but he froze with one leg in the air, face going blank once more.

The teen suddenly lost his balance and fell onto his butt; the jolt shocking him back into awareness. His blue eyes widened as he realized that he had no clue where he was or why he felt so sticky and gross. It didn't help that the first person his gaze happened to land on was Vlad. His arch enemy Vlad.

"What're you doing here?" Danny shouted at Vlad, his face scrunching into a hostile glare as his hands coiled into defensive fists.

"_Crazy_ things," Ryder murmured as he pulled himself up onto the bench of the table to get a better look at the current drama that was unfolding before him.

Before Vlad could respond, Melody looked up from her hair, gave Danny another odd look, and broke out into harsh, unbelieving laughter. "He's kidding, right?" she asked Vlad, still giggling a little. "Oh, gosh, maybe he really has cracked. This has got to be good."

Shooting the girl a reprimanding glare, Vlad said with uncertainty, "I don't know if he's joking or not. And nobody cracks this randomly." Focusing back on Danny, Vlad told the angry, frightened teen as he sat up, "What are you doing, Daniel? If this is a game you're playing, it's not funny."

Danny instantly jumped to his feet the moment Vlad moved, and he narrowed his eyes back at the man as he took a fighting stance. "I'm not playing any games, Plasmius," he growled, ignoring Melody and Ryder for the moment. He had no clue who they were, anyway. "Now tell me where I am. What's going on? This better not be another one of your fruitloopy plans!"

Narrowing his eyes, Vlad stood up from the table and closely observed Danny. The teen didn't look like he was joking, and this was something rather easy to tell since the boy's feelings and motives were like an open book. Danny was genuinely confused. And what was worse was that he was geared up and ready to start a fight, which had become something very rare between the two halfas over the past few weeks. Where the sudden animosity came from, Vlad didn't know.

"What was the last thing you remember, Danny?" Vlad asked cautiously.

Danny noticeably became tenser when Vlad stood up, and he quickly glanced to the side at Ryder and Melody. The pair looked highly confused and interested in what was going on. He couldn't help but wonder who they were and how they'd gotten involved in this...whatever _this_ was.

Snapping his focus back onto Vlad, Danny said, "I was at the mall with Sam and Tuck and then..." He paused for a moment, visibly struggling to retrieve the memories of where he'd been before opening his eyes here. Frustration furrowed his eyebrows as Danny snarled at Vlad, "I don't know. _You_ did something."

Vlad smiled a little, chuckling skeptically as he said, "That was two months ago, boy. Are you sure you're alright?"

Danny's eyes widened at Vlad's comment, and he took a step back, reaching up to grab his hair with one hand as he tried to understand. Two months? What had he been doing for two months? How come he couldn't remember anything? And why was Vlad there and how did he know all of this?

"I...I'm fine," Danny muttered, though he didn't believe a word of what he was saying. Clearly shaken up by what Vlad had told him, the teen raised his eyes and glared at the man. The jerk was smirking at him like he knew exactly what was going on. He probably did know. He was probably responsible for whatever had happened to him.

_Ding!_

"Whoa!" Danny yelped, jumping in shock as the cheery sound rang through the surprisingly large room. He spun around, searching for the source of the sound. When he came up empty, he whispered, "What was that? What does that mean?"

Melody giggled at Danny's funny actions. "Aw," she mockingly cooed. "He looks like a confused, angry squirrel." Sighing with false sweetness, she slipped off her table and began to walk to her display case, muttering, "Well, if the Collector wants us to look like crap for the rest of the day, that's his choice. I'll say this much, though, it's not a smart or sanitary choice."

Running a hand through his silver, sweat-laden hair, Vlad blew out a sigh and began to walk toward his display case, completely ignoring the fact that Ryder had somehow vanished in a very short span of time. He had taken only a few steps before he noticed Danny wasn't following. The teen remained resolutely where he stood.

"Are you coming, Daniel?" Vlad asked with a curious raise of an eyebrow.

Snapping his face into an instinctive glare, Danny retorted, "Does it look like I'm going anywhere with you?" As the teen spoke, he heard a door open from behind him, and he turned around to see a group of bored looking ghosts enter the room. They were wearing strange uniforms that he'd never seen before. He was still uncertain of his surroundings, but maybe they could help him. Pretty much anybody was better than Vlad.

Danny made a snap decision and strode towards the ghosts, frowning in concern as their gazes landed on him and they started coming his way. "Um...excuse me," the boy began, halting in place as the ghosts came closer. "I was wondering if-hey! Ouch! What're you doing?"

The ghosts hadn't hesitated in grabbing the teen and capturing his arms behind his back as they led him towards an opening across the room. As Danny struggled to free himself, he heard someone else shouting for freedom, and he squirmed around to see Ryder being grabbed by another set of ghost guards.

"Don't let 'em twist your arms, Danny!" Ryder yelled, grimacing in pain as what he'd just warned the boy of happened to him. "It hurts!"

Before Danny could shout at the man for answers to his many questions, he found himself being thrown into a small room. He slammed into someone's back and looked up, horrified to see that it was Vlad. He pushed away from the man and spun back towards the door only to have it shut in his face.

Danny could only stare at the metal doors, his shoulders shaking as he breathed. This was quite possibly the worst situation he could ever think of.

"Honestly, Danny, I won't be able to take whatever game you're playing for very long. After our last punishment, my patience is pretty thin," Vlad sighed as he walked over to a wall and leaned against it. Staring at the crowd outside with mild interest, Vlad told the teen, "So, please, stop the act. I'm really not in the mood."

Danny slowly turned around, his wary glare back in place to hide his fear and confusion. He had no idea what Vlad was talking about. Punishment? And why were there ghosts outside of the window thing at the end of the room? How come Vlad didn't seem at all concerned by their prying eyes?

The teen pressed his back into the corner, unable to hide his fear any longer as he shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his quiet voice trembling slightly. "What's going on? Just tell me, Vlad. Stop messing with me." His hands coiled into loose fists again as he yelled at the man, "What did you do to me?"

Danny's outburst is what finally did it. The teen's tone of panic and fury couldn't be forged. The teen was in real trouble.

Vlad turned his head to look at Danny, his expression of deep concern. "Calm down," he ordered, voice stern and even. "I haven't done anything to you. You better be honest with me, Danny. Can you really not remember the past two months of being in here? The Curator? The museum? Melody and Ryder? Are you telling me you have no recollections of any of these things?"

"No," Danny whispered, pressing his back further against the wall as he held his hands up in front of his body in case Vlad tried anything. "I was at the mall...I don't understand." He closed his eyes and pressed the side of his fist against his forehead when a headache began to pound through his skull.

"I don't know what's going on," the boy murmured, keeping his eyes firmly shut as if that would make his problems disappear. "This doesn't make sense."

"No. No, it doesn't," Vlad stated, folding his arms in front of him as he tried think things through. "You were perfectly fine during the punishment. I'm almost positive you're not suffering from heat stroke. Its side effects don't include such kind of memory loss. And the memory loss itself is very acute. It stops right at the point before you came and fought me, the Curator captured us, and when we wound up in this mess."

Glancing over at Danny, Vlad noticed how distraught the teen was. He looked near to a panic attack. "You'll be fine, Danny," Vlad told the teen. "We'll figure this out. There has to be a logical explanation for your memory loss, and during lunch we'll find it and fix it, alright?"

The teen lowered his hand and opened his eyes to look up at Vlad. The confusion on his face was easy to see even though he was trying his best to cover it up. None of this made sense to him. Apparently, he was in some sort of museum somewhere with Vlad, and he'd been punished for something.

But the weirdest thing, out of all of that, was that Vlad was being...nice. Not extremely nice, but something was definitely different. The last time he'd seen the man, it hadn't exactly been on the best of terms. He remembered that much. Was Vlad trying to trick him now or something?

"Why're you..." Danny swallowed hard, shaking his head. "Why're you being nice to me? You're-you're never nice to me."

"You don't remember, but we made a deal to tolerate each other the second week we were here," Vlad said with a smirk. He pointed at the teen, saying, "And as a matter of fact, that truce is still in play despite your memory loss, so don't try anything cute."

Danny's scowl quickly returned at seeing Vlad's smile, and he glared up at the man. "Yeah right. There's no way that's...true..." the teen's angry words died off, and he clamped his eyes shut, holding his head in his hands as a crushing pressure built up inside his skull. It felt like his brain was slowly being squeezed by a vice. He had to grit his teeth tightly together to keep from crying out in pain.

Suddenly, the pressure disappeared, and he opened his eyes to look around the display case in confusion. "Wait a minute," Danny began, pushing away from the wall. He did a small circle as he examined the room before looking at Vlad. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder as he said, "Weren't we just out there? How'd we get in here- and why are you staring at me like that?"

Danny heaved an exasperated sigh before putting a hand to the side of his head and wincing. "And did Melody throw another grate at my head or something?" he muttered, squinting his eyes through the pounding headache he had.

Vlad confusion swiftly turned into exasperated frustration. For once in his life, he didn't know what Danny was up to. Although all signs pointed to the teen having some weird memory loss and return kind of day, Vlad really didn't want to end up being the fool who believed in such a lame trick. He tried to rein in his emotions as he glared at Danny and asked him, "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Um..." Danny started, uncertainty in his voice as he looked at Vlad's annoyed expression. He didn't know what he'd done to make the guy so frustrated. "Well, we were out there, and Ryder said that I was saying crazy things, and then Melody said something mean, and then...we're in here now? That...that doesn't make sense, does it?"

Vlad stared at Danny long and hard, trying his best to decipher through Danny's tone, words, and body language to see if he was lying again or not. Vlad trusted in his knowledge of the teen to be able to make a sound decision on the matter. Finally, and with small, somber sigh, Vlad came to the conclusion that something very wrong was happening with Danny.

"You haven't been making sense for the past ten minutes," Vlad said. "Just a few seconds ago you didn't remember the last two months we were in here. We need to get to the bottom of this. Do you feel sick? Dizzy? Weak and achy? Anything besides the obvious headache?"

"Whoa, what? I didn't remember anything?" Danny blurted, looking frightened and worried. Before Vlad could respond, the teen took a deep breath and nodded quickly, trying his best to focus on Vlad's questions. He didn't understand what was happening to him, but he needed to stay calm. Panicking wouldn't help anything.

"No...no, I don't feel sick," he said slowly, grimacing as another flash of pain went through his head. "Maybe, oh man, ow, maybe a little weak."

Danny shook his head and stuck a hand out to lean against the wall as he brought his other hand up and held it against his forehead. "Something's...something's not right..." he mumbled as the pain rose up and crashed through his head like a tidal wave.

Once the pain had dulled, Danny raised his head, stared straight ahead for a moment, before looking to the side at Vlad. His eyebrows were furrowed deeply, and he stood up straight, taking several steps away from the man. The confusion in his eyes was quickly replaced by a wary caution as he said quietly but firmly, "Who're you?"

Vlad swore under his breath. The situation had just gone from bad to worse in hardly a minute's time. The memory loss and gain was getting more pronounced and frequent, it seemed, but Vlad didn't have enough data to know for sure. He had nothing to go on. As he continued to stare at Danny with concern, though, Vlad was determined to figure it all out and set things right.

"Maybe the Curator ordered you...no. That's not possible," Vlad mused aloud. "I'm very sure his power does not work that way." Sighing in frustration with himself, Vlad massaged his forehead with one hand, telling himself quietly, "Think it through. If you know the source of the memory loss, you'll be one step closer to discovering a cure."

With that said, Vlad pushed himself off the wall. The best way for him to think was always by pacing, so that's just what he did.

"Uh, hello? Old guy?" Danny interrupted Vlad's musings as he gave the man a weird look. "How exactly do you know the Curator? And where'd you come from, anyway?" The teen glanced from side-to-side as if expecting someone to jump out of hiding and tell him that this was all one, big joke.

When no one did, he frowned, deciding to keep his distance from his very odd cellmate until he figured everything out. He didn't know how the man had gotten in here, but he wanted answers.

Putting his hands on his hips, Danny scowled at Vlad and asked, "Why are you in my display case?"

"Oh, I don't have time for this," Vlad sighed irritably. He paused his pacing for a moment to sharply retort back at the clearly unsound teenager, "I got lost. Deal with it."

Returning to his pacing, the man murmured to himself, "I'm not _that_ old."

Looking perturbed by the man's answer, Danny crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his back against the wall while keeping his eyes firmly on Vlad. He didn't believe a word of what the guy had just said to him, but it didn't look like he was going to explain himself any further. He guessed he'd just have to deal with it until it came time for lunch.

"Maybe you're Melody's dad," Danny said, speaking mostly to himself just to annoy the man. He seemed to have a sensitive spot about his age. Flashing a grin, the teen added, "You've gotta be fifty or so and that seems about the right age. Well, there we go. Mystery solved."

"You have got to be kidding me," Vlad growled, stabbing Danny with a withering glare as he continued to pace. "Well, it is nice to know that you would still be a contemptuous little brat even without your memory of me."

Releasing another sigh, Vlad closed his eyes and tried not to focus on Danny. That was easier said than done, though.

"Hey, I don't even know you," Danny shot back as he held both of his hands up and glared at Vlad. He didn't appreciate some random guy popping up out of nowhere and calling him a brat for no reason. Being stuck in this museum was stressful enough as it was. This new cellmate was not helping in the least. "I don't think _I'm_ the one with the memory issues, old man."

Giving Danny one last glare, Vlad returned to his reasoning and analysis of Danny's condition. He knew what it wasn't. He knew it wasn't heat stroke or anything along those lines. He knew it hadn't come from the Collector. He knew it was only effecting Danny, so it couldn't have come from anything that Vlad or the others had done.

_Maybe he is a target,_ Vlad thought, quickly scrutinizing the teen._ But who or what would target Danny? And why only Danny? If he is a target, then there would have to be a motive and a person behind that motive. Am I sure I want to rule out a natural cause?_

"Fine. Whatever," Danny muttered as he slid to the ground on his bottom and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "Don't say anything. See if I...care..."

Danny felt another burst of agony through his skull that made his vision go white for a moment. He groaned once his eyesight returned and dropped his head into his palms as he realized that whatever memory loss Vlad had been talking about before had probably just happened to him again considering he couldn't remember how'd he'd gotten on the ground.

The teen rubbed his throbbing temples and looked up at Vlad, lines of pain marring his features. "Vlad...I'm freaking out right now," he told the man. He was trying his best to just breathe and stay calm, but he knew it couldn't work forever.

It was his tone that made Vlad stop in his tracks. The teen was back to his normal memory, which was a good thing, but Vlad could see how close the boy was to panicking. Vlad knew he needed to work fast. He didn't know how much time he had before another wave of memory loss hit Danny, so there was no time to waste.

Vlad walked over to where the teen sat and crouched down on his haunches in front of him to be at Danny's eye level. "I'm working on it," he assured the teen. "Quickly, tell me if you remember talking to any ghosts in the rest of the museum lately. Has memory loss like this ever happened to you before?"

"No, no," Danny answered, eyes snapping shut as he warded off another blast of pain. "No t-to both. I've only talked to the Collector, Faze, and...and that big ghost that beat up Ryder. That's it." He shoved the heels of his palms against his forehead, choking back a yell of agony. It felt like someone was slamming a steel pipe into the base of his skull over and over again. He could literally feel awareness being pried away from him, but he fought to stay coherent.

"I can't-I can't take much more of this," Danny growled out through his clenched teeth. "My head's...gonna explode, Vlad."

Looking down at the floor, Vlad was silent as he thought for a moment. Even if he had the power to do so, the Collector wouldn't put Danny under this much pain for no reason, especially after a punishment. Faze might have been a pompous ghost with a supreme superiority complex, but never once had he tried to hurt them. The only one that made sense was the multiplying ghost, but his powers didn't take away memories. And the Collector had told the ghosts not to touch the humans.

"Well, that could be interpreted in many different ways," Vlad muttered under his breath, rubbing his chin as his mind worked furiously. "Taking his memories away isn't necessarily touching Danny. If a ghost in here is targeting him, the ghost would have to find that loophole. I'm not so sure if the multiplying one is intelligent enough to figure one out, but he does have the motive."

Looking back up at Danny, Vlad leaned forward and quietly said, "One more question, Danny, then I'm afraid we will have to find a way to get you to the Infirmary. When you talked to the multiplying ghost, was it very recent? If so, why did you talk to him?"

Danny was struggling to listen to Vlad and answer his question. It took so much of his willpower to fight against whatever hold was taking over his mind, but the boy always had been stubborn. It was gonna take a lot more than just pain to get him to back down and give in.

"I...yeah, I did," the teen breathlessly answered Vlad. He wanted to open his eyes and lift his head from his hands, but he knew that would waste energy he didn't have. Struggling to maintain control, Danny quickly reviewed his recent memories before saying, "It was before we...escaped yesterday. I saw him g-glaring at Ryder and when he...caught me looking, he glared at me. I told him to buzz off because he couldn't...hurt us, anyway. He looked mad about it, but-but he went away."

Cringing noticeably from the pain, Danny whispered, his voice strained, "Was that a bad thing?"

Vlad wasn't someone who usually sugar-coated everything. It wasn't like he could lie to Danny and say the world was going magically become fine and dandy. Wincing, he answered with uncertainty, "Maybe."

Then it hit him. Stomach wrenching like a wet towel being rung out, Vlad realized he was truly concerned about Danny's well-being. He hated seeing the teen so distressed and in pain; it triggered something Vlad had never really felt before. The sight drew actual sympathy from the man. Vlad didn't know when the switch in attitude had been made, but he knew for a fact that it was there and strong.

"Hold on, Danny," Vlad told the teen. "I'm going to try and get you some help, alright?"

Crunching himself into a tighter ball than before, Danny nodded quickly. "Alright," he agreed, voice barely above a whisper. He couldn't say anymore. The pain was too much. It was finally taking hold, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. He'd fought as hard as he could and it still wasn't enough to win.

With a frustrated shout of pain, Danny went still, breathing hard. Slowly, he raised his head and stared nervously up at Vlad. From the boy's expression, Vlad could easily tell that his memory was gone once again. Instead of demanding to know where he was or who Vlad was, the teen just looked back at him, fear obvious in his eyes. He looked too frightened to say anything at all.

Determination setting in, Vlad quickly stood up and turned around. He walked briskly to the glass wall, looking through it for any sign of some guards or the Collector through the sparse morning crowd of ghosts. When he didn't find either, he raised a hand and pounded his palm against the clear glass.

"Hey!" Vlad called out firmly to one of the ghosts guests. "Go get a guard. We need help."

The ghost Vlad had yelled at froze for a moment, looking shocked that the halfa had actually singled him out to go retrieve a guard. After a pause, the ghost smiled proudly. He couldn't wait to tell all of his friends about his luck. However, the expression quickly dulled when the ghost noticed how serious Vlad looked, and it nodded before flying off to go find a guard as Vlad had requested.

While Vlad waited, Danny looked slowly around the room, silently running his hands through his hair. Everything around him was new...different. He'd never seen anything like it before. Actually, he hadn't seen many things before. In fact, he wasn't quite sure who _he_ was.

This distressed him. Keeping his hands firmly over his head, Danny continued to stare around the room, soft whimpers escaping between his lips. His eyes were mostly drawn to the only person in the room that he could see. He didn't know who it was. That only seemed to worry him more. Tears rose up in his eyes from his building fear and confusion, and he bit down hard on his bottom lip to silence himself.

Vlad didn't want to look back, but he knew he needed to check up on Danny. One look at the teen made the man flinch. The memory loss was obviously worse than anything before. Vlad was tempted to go over and comfort the boy somehow, but he was afraid that would only make the memoryless teen even more terrified. So he stayed where he was and wearily stared out the glass wall, waiting restlessly for some guards to show up.

It didn't take much longer for help to arrive. Unfortunately, it wasn't a guard but the Collector himself. The ghost looked highly agitated as he rounded the corner and approached the glass wall. His whitish eyes were narrowed as he stopped and inspected Vlad with an obvious frown on his face.

"What is it, Mr. Masters?" the Collector asked placatingly after blowing out a soft sigh. "You know I do not appreciate it when you bother my guests."

"I know," Vlad said quickly, "but this is an emergency." Pointing over to Danny in the corner, Vlad explained urgently, "Something is wrong with Danny. He's been suffering from extreme memory loss and a strong migraine. I'm afraid he's become a target of revenge for one of the other ghosts on display. It needs to be looked into, but the most important thing right now is that he goes to the Infirmary."

The Curator leaned to the side to see Danny for himself, and his frown deepened. It wasn't out of anger, but extreme concern. He didn't even try to argue with Vlad. The half-ghost wouldn't have said anything if there wasn't a problem. The ghost nodded to what Vlad had said and somberly murmured, "I will send guards in to retrieve him immediately." Glancing back up at the halfa, he added quietly, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mr. Masters. Give me one moment."

That said, the Collector quickly turned and strode away from the glass to go give out his orders.

Sighing with a little relief, Vlad glanced briefly over to Danny before focusing back on the Collector. Knocking impatiently on the glass, Vlad told the ghost, "His memory won't return to normal until the ghost targeting him is stopped. You understand this, right?"

Without stopping, the Collector waved a hand back at Vlad and said, "I will handle it. Do not worry, Mr. Masters." Then, he disappeared around the corner. When Vlad looked over his shoulder again to check on Danny, he found that the teen was on his feet, running his hands across the smooth surface of the display case's wall.

He seemed confused by what he was seeing. It was like he'd never even seen a wall before. Danny continued to move his hands across the wall only stopping when he heard the door to the display case open behind him. When he turned around to see what the noise meant, his eyes widened at the sight of the ghost guards waiting for him. Not only did he not know what the ghosts were, they looked terrifying.

Danny instantly recoiled from the ghosts, backing away from them as quickly as he could. He only stopped when he bumped into Vlad and looked up at the man with his teary, frightened eyes. He didn't know who Vlad was, but he knew that he looked less scary than the ghosts did and that was all that mattered.

The teen threw his arms around Vlad's waist and hugged him tight as he buried his face in the man's shirt. "Don't...don't let them hurt me," he whimpered to the man.

Shocked beyond words, Vlad raised his hands up away from Danny and stumbled backwards a few feet in surprise. A hug from Danny had been the last thing Vlad expected to happen to him that day. He knew the boy wasn't currently in his right mind, but it still felt bizarre and a little embarrassing. The emotions running through Vlad couldn't be explained. One part of him wanted to shove Danny away and put him in the capable hands of the guards, yet another part was highly protective of the hapless teen.

The man didn't know what to do as he looked quickly back and forth between Danny hanging onto him in sheer terror and the ghost guards coming toward them. Pressing his lips together, Vlad made his decision.

Wrapping an arm around Danny's shoulders, Vlad sighed at the ghost guards, "Look, he has lost his memory and is frightened. He will not go with you without putting up a fuss. Just let me go with you to keep him calm."

The guards each shared looks of distaste as they glanced at each other. It was clear to all of them that, even without discussing it, they did not want to do anything that made their job anymore annoying than it had already become thanks to these humans. They all knew that if they made Vlad stay and took Danny away that was exactly what was going to happen. Though the Curator had told them to just take Danny, it really wasn't worth the headache to drag the teen kicking and screaming to the Infirmary.

"Alright," the unfortunate chosen leader of the ghosts said to Vlad as he nodded towards the exit. "Just keep him quiet, and you can stay with him."

Sharing another look with his cohorts, the lead ghost pushed Vlad and Danny out of their display case, and the group of guards formed a circle around them to start guiding them towards the Infirmary. Danny kept a firm grip on Vlad as they were forced to walk. He didn't even raise his face as he asked through quiet sobs, "W-what's going on? Are they gonna hurt us?"

"No," Vlad answered, giving Danny a light, reassuring squeeze of his shoulder. "You're not feeling very well right now, so we are taking you to the Infirmary. No one here is going to hurt you."

Danny wasn't quite sure why he wasn't feeling well or how it had happened, but he trusted what Vlad had said. He didn't even know why he trusted the man, but he did. "Okay," the teen said, nodding a little as he did.

Just before the group moved out into the hallway, they were joined by an irritated looking Curator. He sent Vlad a confused stare as he asked, "What are you doing- oh, never mind." The ghost broke off and shook his head as he closed his eyes and rubbed them slowly. Without opening them, he muttered, "The problem has been taken care of, Mr. Masters. However, it will take a while for this memory loss to wear off. She put an extra boost into her last spell, unfortunately. But once it does fade away, Mr. Fenton will return to normal, though I am uncertain as to how much of today he will recall. A small price to pay, wouldn't you agree?"

Without waiting for Vlad to agree, the Collector opened his eyes and waved a hand at the guards. "I can handle these two. Return to your duties," he dismissed the group who all looked very relieved to be getting away from the humans. Glancing back down at Vlad, the Curator gave him a stern look and said, "Come along."

As the Curator took the lead down the hallway, Danny whispered up to Vlad, "He's...he's creepy."

Grinning slightly, Vlad said quietly down at the teen, "I know. Oh, how I know."

Looking up at the Curator, Vlad's smile faded. Leaning forward, he asked the ghost, "What did you do to the ghost who took his memories away? Do you know why she took them away?"

"She didn't say," the Collector answered distractedly. He didn't glance back at either of the half-ghosts, but his shoulders were tensed up. It wasn't hard to tell that he was upset about something. "I banned her from use of her power until further notice," the ghost continued dispassionately. "At the moment, it is all I can do."

"She didn't _say_?" Vlad asked angrily. Glaring heatedly at the Curator, the man cooly said, "You could have asked her with your power. You force us to answer you plenty of times with it. And while we are on this subject, how come you didn't punish her? She almost permanently damaged one of your exhibits. How is this situation any different than when we try to escape? If anything, it is worse. This is ridiculous, you know that?"

"I am certain you would tell me if I didn't," the Curator replied, slowly shaking his head. He glanced over his shoulder at Vlad, frowning as he said, "I will not deny that the situation would seem unfair to you and Mr. Fenton. However, this is my museum, and I am the one in charge. Therefore, I will do as I please, and you will not question my motives."

Danny looked worriedly up at Vlad's angry expression and then over to the Curator's equally cold face. He didn't know what they were arguing about, but he had the suspicion that it was about him. He also didn't want either of them to argue considering the extreme creepiness of the Curator. The teen didn't know what to do. His uncertainty led him to hiding his face against Vlad's side so that he wouldn't have to make a decision.

The Collector's eyes shifted downward onto the teen's pathetic state, and he let out a sigh before looking up at Vlad. Raising an eyebrow, the ghost said, "If you are so curious about her motives, you are free to ask her yourself."

"I will," Vlad said in a growl. He glanced down anxiously at Danny before returning his glare to the Collector and saying adamantly, "Whoever this ghost is, she outright attacked Danny for seemingly no reason whatsoever. I don't know who she is, but I'm positive she did not act alone. She had to have a motive, and yet she has none that I can think of. That means someone else, another ghost maybe, is telling her what to do or influencing her behind everyone's back. Perhaps it's the one who can multiply and who hurt Ryder. If you do not get to the bottom of this now, there will be more attacks like this one. I can promise you that."

"How very unfortunate," the Collector droned as he turned his head to face straight ahead again. The ghost suddenly stopped walking, forcing the two halfas to quickly halt to avoid bumping into him. Turning slowly, the Collector loomed above Vlad and Danny, his expression impossible to decipher.

"You disobey my authority consistently. You disrespect me in every manner imaginable, and yet, when a problem arises that you created from your own impudence, you expect me to solve it. It was only out of the goodness of my heart that I decided to answer your call today, Mr. Masters. I am not in the best of moods, as I'm sure you understand. If these escape attempts continue, well, I may not answer the next cry for help."

The Collector momentarily let his glare drop away from Vlad to land on the boy clinging to him for protection. Curiously, he reached out a hand as if to grab the boy, only to stop when Danny trembled and tightened his hold on Vlad. The Curator retracted his hand, remaining emotionless for a moment before a small smirk drifted to his face.

He glanced up at Vlad again. "I can not deny that I might prefer him this way," the Collector said, his smirk growing at seeing Vlad's reaction. As if to goad the man further, the Collector added, "Perhaps Veronica is on to something, no?"

For the first time since being captured, Vlad felt fear. Not fear for only himself, but for the others he was with too. With that fear came a rush of anger and rage toward the Collector. It crashed through Vlad's chest and boiled out into his stomach, demanding to be let out. With eyes narrowing into dangerous slits, Vlad curled his free hand not holding on Danny into a tight fist. He was so tempted to snarl something back at the Collector. Even worse was the urge to hurt the ghost. He wanted to lash out any way he could.

But even in the face of such a threat Vlad knew what the Collector's aim was, and Vlad was determined not to succumb to his emotions. Trying to breathe evenly to keep a clear and steady head, the man composed himself once more before raising a pointed finger and taking a step closer to the Curator.

"This," Vlad said in a low, venomous tone, "This is exactly why we do not belong here."

The Collector's smirk slowly delved into a frown. Vlad's reaction obviously wasn't what he had expected or wanted it to be. It put him off his game for a moment, but he recovered quickly. He would not back down from yet another display of defiance from Vlad.

Meeting the halfa's gaze without flinching, the ghost murmured, "Do you still believe that I care what you think?" The Curator smiled, shaking his head as he chuckled coldly. It was an unsettling, chilling sound that made Danny shudder again. "You foolish halfa," the ghost continued, his tone darker than it had ever been before.

"You may as well accept your place here before you hurt yourself..." the ghost's eyes drifted down to Danny as he finished with a cruel smile, "Or someone else."

Vlad's eyes followed the Collector's gaze down to Danny, swallowing resistantly as another flutter of fear slithered down his spine. Quickly, Vlad looked back up to meet the ghost's mirthless gaze. All the man could do at that point was grit his teeth in frustration. Much to Vlad's consternation, there was nothing he could say. One wrong word could hurt both him and Danny, and there was no justification in antagonizing the Collector anymore; not even Vlad's pride. To protect the entire group, Vlad would have to be submissive this round.

So with all the willpower he could muster, Vlad kept his mouth firmly shut and his gaze connected with the Curator's. Although verbally compliant, Vlad wasn't about to show this emotion in his narrowed, defiant stare

The Collector just smirked back at Vlad as he put his hands on his hips and straightened up. "Perhaps you're finally learning," he mused to himself before he stopped to laugh at his own statement. "Oh, how amusing that would be," he chuckled, placing a hand against his chest as he shook his head. "However, we both know you are not that intelligent, Mr. Masters."

The ghost turned to continue towards the Infirmary, calling languidly over his shoulder, "Come along then, halfas."

Once the Collector was a sufficient distance away, Danny looked up at Vlad, still shaking from his scare. "Th-thank you for...making him go away," he murmured, voice trembling.

Trembling himself from overwhelming loathing and anger, Vlad had to squeeze his eyes shut and silently scream at himself to calm down before he was able to address Danny. Running a hand through his hair, Vlad glanced down at the teen with a somber expression before muttering, "Don't thank me yet."

That said, Vlad reluctantly moved himself and Danny forward, trailing at a distance behind the Curator until they got to the Infirmary.

Being the gentleman that he was, the Collector held the door open for the two half-ghosts and closed it behind them once they had stepped inside. The Infirmary had certainly changed since the last time Vlad had been there. The room itself had been remodeled so that it was much larger and contained several more hospital beds. There were several large cabinets of medical supplies and IV's waiting to be used at every bedside.

Waiting patiently for them behind a small desk in the corner was a tall and rail-thin ghost with gray hair spiked up into unruly clumps. He wore the typical white jacket of a doctor and had a pair of black gloves over his spidery looking fingers.

"Ah, there they are," the doctor said, floating up out of his seat with a happy smile. "What seems to be wrong with this one, Curator?"

"A headache, I was told," the Collector replied, tilting his head down at Danny who was staring wide-eyed up at the doctor ghost.

"A headache, ya say? A headache," the doctor dutifully repeated as he bent down to inspect the teenager before him, completely ignoring Vlad for the moment. The doctor smiled playfully when Danny cringed away from him and gripped Vlad's shirt tighter in his hands. "Oh, there's no need to be afraid, little one. Just look at me. That's it, my boy."

As Danny unwillingly pulled his eyes up to meet the doctor's, the ghost waved a hand in front of the teen's face. Instantly, Danny's eyes closed as he lost consciousness and fell limply against Vlad's side. Straightening up, the doctor pointed at Vlad and said, "Just put him on the bed over there. Nice and gently, yes. He'll be ship shape in no time, yes he will."

Vlad was swift to catch Danny before he fell, eyes wide in surprise at seeing what the ghost doctor's power could do. Scooping Danny up into his arms as if he weighed nothing, Vlad wordlessly carried the teen over to the cot the doctor had specified and laid him down.

Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad stared emotionlessly down at Danny's sleeping form for a moment. He supposed it was better this way. At least Danny wouldn't be frightened the entire time his memory slowly came back to him, and the doctor didn't behave as creepy as the Collector did...with the small exception of his power to knock patients out at his will.

Releasing a short sigh, Vlad looked up and turned around to face the doctor and Collector again. He didn't feel like saying anything as he waited as stoically as he could for more orders.

"Oh, stop giving me that sorry scowl, Mr. Masters," the Collector jokingly said to the man. He'd sat down on a chair beside the opposite bed and comfortably propped his left leg onto his right knee. Flashing a dark grin, the ghost waved a hand at him and said, "Please..._have a seat_."

As Vlad was forced to sit down in the chair directly next to Danny's bedside, the Collector lazily added, "I'm feeling generous today. You may wait here until Mr. Fenton wakes up."

The doctor glanced suspiciously from Vlad's face to the Curator's smug grin, remaining silent for a moment. He cleared his throat uncomfortably as he asked, "Curator, how is my star patient doing? I haven't seen him since you decided to end his medication. I trust he is well, yes?"

"Perfectly fine, doctor," the Collector replied as he placed his hands in his lap, matching Vlad's glare without blinking. He hadn't even broken eye contact to look at the doctor when he spoke to him.

"Oh, well, yes, wonderful. Thank you, Curator," the doctor murmured, rubbing the back of his neck as he respectfully retreated back to his desk and sat down.

Giving up on his futile glare, Vlad shifted in his seat so that he could prop his head up with a hand. He closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself. The last thing he had wanted that day was to sit in an Infirmary room with the Collector, especially after being threatened not even five minutes before. He felt like he had less privacy with the ghost's eyes observing him than if a hundred guest ghosts from the museum were looking at him in the display case. It was unnerving.

_It was probably exactly how Danny felt when I became mayor of his city,_ Vlad caught himself thinking. Opening his eyes, Vlad's gaze fell on Danny. Although this was one of the worst times for Vlad to get a dose of well-needed guilt, the man didn't have enough pride left to deny it. What he put Danny through these past few months hadn't necessarily been fair.

_You're a mess, Mr. Masters,_ Vlad told himself with an inwardly wry smile. _One utterly complete mess._

"Sir?" the doctor's soft voice interrupted Vlad's thoughts. The ghost was staring timidly across the room at the Collector as he shuffled with some papers at his desk. "Are you alright, sir? You seem a little..."

"A little what, doctor?" the Curator questioned, pulling his gaze away from Vlad to raise an eyebrow at the ghost that had addressed him.

Dropping his gaze nervously, the doctor answered, "Tense, sir. Yes, very tense, sir. Is something the matter?"

The Curator's eyes narrowed even as he tilted his head back and gave a refined chuckle. "Not in the least, my good doctor," he said, dashing the ghost's worries away with the movement of his hand. "I have simply come to a conclusion that I find rather...interesting." His whitish eyes drifted back to Vlad, and he smirked. "Very intriguing indeed."

Vlad's eyebrows furrowed together slightly, but the man was able to rein in the true level of his anxiety and confusion. The man didn't know if he was being messed with or not by the Curator. The events of the day were happening too fast. There wasn't enough time for him to process anything. All he knew was that he didn't like the tone in the ghost's voice.

Shifting again in his seat, Vlad decided to play the Collector's game for a change. Staring intently back at the ghost, Vlad opted for a coy smile as he said conversationally, "Well, since you said it that way and with so much mystery and intrigue, you must mean to tell us your conclusion at some point. Enlighten us, if you please, Mr. Curator."

"Isn't it obvious?" the Curator shot back, smirking as he draped an arm over the back of his chair to get more comfortable. He didn't seem at all concerned by Vlad's newfound confidence. He knew that he was the one in control. "You're pathetic, Mr. Masters. I thought you would have figured this out by now."

Vlad actually laughed. It was a short, mirthless chuckle, but it was a laugh, nonetheless. The comment had just been too unexpected and deceitfully stinging, as well as it not being fair that Vlad had just been thinking about how screwed up and turned upside down his life had become since being captured. Vlad wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush with the ghost. Actually, at this point, he wondered why he even cared to keep talking. He guessed it was instinct and a little bit of his old, stubborn ways that pushed him along.

"Mmm. Yes, well, you've already told me how much of an idiot I am today," Vlad sneered, "so what did you really expect?"

The Curator chuckled at Vlad's rude comment. He'd begun to understand how the humans worked after observing them for so long. They didn't know it, but he had spent many days just watching them; how they interacted with each other, how they reacted under times of stress, amusement, and concern. Sure, each human had a different reaction for certain situations, but it was all the same in the end.

He had paid special attention to Vlad since the escape attempts had started, and he was quite certain he had figured the man out. That was why he felt so confident, and that was how he could tell the halfa's true feelings.

The Collector dropped both feet to the floor and leaned forward in his seat as he placed his hands on his knees. "I think we both know why you're pathetic, Mr. Masters, but I will explain it to you now because I am a kind man," the ghost said, unable to remove the smirk from his expression.

"When I brought you here, you were confident. You were in control of your emotions. I did not understand you. I thought of you as being a reasonable, intelligent creature; someone who I found myself on the same level with." He laughed softly, smiling wide enough to display his gleaming white teeth. "In your time here, however, you have surely proven me wrong. And do you know why?"

The Collector paused but not long enough for Vlad to answer. He nodded his head to the sleeping teenager as he said, "Because of him. You were enemies before I brought you here. You did not care for him. In fact, it would not have surprised me in the least if the two of you ended up destroying each other had I not intervened." Smirking coldly, the ghost murmured, "But now there is a change. I see it. I understand it. I understand you. You're pathetic because you care, Mr. Masters. You care about him now, and there is no way to remove that feeling. You are forever tainted with it and that frightens you. Admit it."

"Just because someone cares about something doesn't necessarily make that person pathetic," Vlad calmly responded, looking highly undaunted.

Years of lying had taught Vlad how to mask his true emotions. Lying didn't depend solely on what you said or how you said it, it was mostly about body language. While Vlad's outward signals displayed a cool collectiveness, the man's insides were a different story. His heart and brain raced a mile a minute as all too late Vlad realized he was standing on thin ice. The game's rules had suddenly changed, and it was time for him to scramble and get his act back together before he lost.

"Take yourself, for example," Vlad continued, indicating the ghost in front of him with a hand gesture. "You care a lot about your museum. It is at the front and foremost of your life and a center point of your affections. But does this make you weak or pathetic? Of course not.

"Now let us take my relationship with Daniel into account," Vlad said with a brief glance over to Danny. "I'll admit, my tolerance for the boy has expanded tremendously over the past few weeks, but does that mean I truly care for him? How would you know if I do or not care due to the fact you're a ghost and you have never truly cared about an actual human in your entire life? You're basing your claim off observation alone. There is no personal experience fixed into your equation, I'm afraid.

"For all you know, I could be faking my every emotion for the sake of the others and especially towards Danny to gain trust. The group needs a leader they can relate with and care about to escape. Behaving like a stone cold ghost doesn't help my case, quite honestly. So here is the big question, Mr. Curator: because I _act _like I care about Danny, does that mean I truly, honestly care about him?"

"I believe that is a question only you can answer, halfa," the Curator replied, his smile turning sly. The man hadn't realized it yet, but he had given the ghost exactly what he needed to prove his point. Just like he had predicted. Vlad had waltzed right into his trap.

Leaning forward, the Collector raised an eyebrow as he quietly asked, "Well, Mr. Masters? _Do you truly care for the boy or not? I would very much appreciate it if you were honest with me_."

Vlad remained silent for a few seconds, his face expressionless as he tried all that he could to deny the command as his anxiety rose. He couldn't believe the Collector would stoop so low in this situation, and the man felt like an idiot for ever believing the ghost would behave like a gentleman.

In the end, though, all Vlad's struggles were fruitless. The spell's power was too strong, and the words had to come out. With a solemn smile, Vlad finally answered, "I do truly care for him."

Looking highly satisfied, the Collector sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "As I said before, Mr. Masters," he murmured with a disdainful smirk. "Pathetic."

Raising his eyebrows, all Vlad could quietly say with a weary smile was, "We'll see."

The Collector's smile only seemed to widen as his gaze drifted away from Vlad and landed on the slowly awakening teen beside him. "Ah, he lives," the ghost said with a rueful chuckle.

Danny's head lolled to the side, and he let out a soft groan as his eyes fluttered beneath their lids. He went still for a moment before his eyes opened a tiny bit. He grimaced at the dull throbbing pain that seemed to center right in the middle of his forehead, and he brought up a hand to cover his face.

He didn't know where he was, but as he opened up his fingers to peer through them at his surroundings, he felt extremely relieved to see Vlad sitting beside him. He wasn't even sure why he was so relieved, but he definitely was.

Releasing a small, grateful smile, Danny softly said, "Vlad? What's...what's goin' on?"

"As luck would have it, you're in the Infirmary with our lovely Curator," Vlad answered with a sarcastic smirk. "Bad news: you were targeted by another ghost who tried to take away all your memories. Good news: the ghost was stopped and you should be back to normal in due time. How do you feel?" Then a bigger question came to Vlad's mind. Experimentally, he asked, "How much do you remember?"

Danny's eyebrows furrowed as he took in what Vlad had said. He didn't say anything for a few moments and instead massaged his pounding forehead as he looked up and spied the Collector sitting where Vlad had mentioned. A frown made its way to his face, and he dropped his head back against the pillow with a grimace.

"Um...none of that," the teen muttered under his breath. "Last thing I remember is that punishment in the hot box thing." Danny closed his eyes, letting out a tense sigh as he added, "I'm okay, I think. Just feel like someone slammed a pot against my head for a couple hours. No big deal."

Opening his eyes to squint over at Vlad, the teen asked hesitantly, "Are you okay?"

"I've been sitting here having a brilliant conversation with the Curator for the past few minutes," Vlad said with a grim smile. "I think that will satisfy your question." Although Vlad very much wanted to get out of that room and away from the Collector, he stayed seated and tried to seem patient while he waited.

"Oh...yeah," Danny murmured tiredly. He wanted to feel sympathetic for Vlad, but his head was hurting too much for him to focus on that. The boy's eyes closed again, and he covered his eyes with both hands, frowning deeply. Something weird was going on in his head. He was seeing images across the backs of his eyelids; images he was sure he hadn't seen, but, then again, Vlad did say that a ghost had tried to take his memories. Maybe these were his stolen memories.

Danny stayed silent as he reviewed the memories that he could make sense of. Apparently, he'd been in the main room with everyone else, started acting weird, gotten dragged to his display case, started acting weirder, hugged Vlad, got taken to the Infirmary, passed out-

_Wait. Wait, wait, wait_. The teen's eyes widened as he pulled a hand away from his face to stare over at Vlad in complete disbelief. _I totally hugged Vlad, and he didn't kill me. I hugged Vlad? Why the heck did I do that? And why didn't he kill me?_

"Vla- hey!" Danny broke off when a hand reached out and grabbed his chin. His head was turned to the side, and he looked up into the steel colored eyes of the doctor.

"How are you feeling, young one?" the ghost questioned, prying open one of Danny's eyes to peer into it skeptically.

"I'd be better if you stopped grabbing my eye!" the teen yelped out, forcing the ghost to chuckle and release his eyelids. Danny pulled his head back and blinked quickly a few times, glaring up at the doctor as he rubbed a fist against his right eye.

"He'll be fine," the doctor said, patting the boy on the head as he faced the Curator. "I can see his memories have already returned. Yes, he is a strong-willed one indeed."

"Mm, wonderful," the Collector said, standing swiftly to approach the halfas. He grinned at the pair and spread his hands mockingly. "I always knew it was true. Thank you, doctor." He dismissed the ghost with a wave before focusing on Vlad. "Well, Mr. Masters, it would seem everything worked out just fine, as I knew it would. Would you like to return to your room now?" Smirking, the ghost added, "I'm sure Mr. Fenton could use the help walking."

Vlad shot the Collector a dirty glare. "If by fine you mean we're temporarily safe before the next disgruntled ghost exhibit decides to lash out at us and you refuse to help, then you're perfectly correct, sir," Vlad said politely as he stood. He hesitated before offering a hand out to Danny. The boy was going to need some help getting up, and it wasn't like the Collector was going to offer any.

"So negative, Mr. Masters," the Collector tutted with a shake of his head. "I know your existence is pitiful, but try to be a bit more optimistic, hm?" The insult said, the ghost turned on his heel and walked towards the door with a hidden smirk on his face.

Danny stared at the Curator's back, his eyes wide in surprise. He couldn't believe how blatantly the ghost had just insulted Vlad. He didn't think anyone could get away with saying something like that to Vlad and walk away alive. He turned his shocked stare onto Vlad's hand before looking up at the man's face warily. What had happened while he was unconscious?

After an uncertain pause, the teen reached out and took Vlad's hand, grimacing when his head pounded as he was pulled upright. He panted softly for a moment before he mumbled, "What happened, Vlad? Why's he talking to you like that?"

"Not now, Daniel," Vlad muttered as he pulled Danny forward by his arm. "He's simply trying to provoke me. It's predictable behavior. I should know. I used it plenty of times on you...and I still do. But I know well enough not to react to it myself."

"Okay," Danny answered in a small voice. He had no clue what was going on. It felt like he'd woken up in a completely different world where all the rules had changed. The Collector wasn't the one who antagonized them. It was always the other way around. The ghost had always been genial in his own creepy way. He'd never been hostile...but he was now.

All the teen could do was lower his eyes and let himself be dragged along through the hallways as he did his best to think through the throbbing in his head. What could have possibly happened while he was knocked out to cause this change? And he was still hung up on the fact that he'd hugged Vlad. Danny hoped the man wouldn't bring that up because he certainly wasn't going to.

Danny finally glanced up when he realized that their little group had just made it back to the main room. Like many times before, the Collector opened the door and nudged them inside. However, not like many times before, the ghost sent them a cheerfully smug grin as he reached out to mockingly pat the top of Danny's head.

The teen cringed away from the Curator which only seemed to amuse the ghost because he smirked. "Feel better, Mr. Fenton," the ghost told Danny before looking down at Vlad. His smirk only seemed to get more oily as he said, "And have a nice day, Mr. Masters. Enjoy your lunch."

As the Collector turned away and the doors closed behind him, Danny looked up at Vlad, shaking his head in confusion and concern. "What's going on, Vlad?" he asked quietly. "Something's really wrong here. The Collector doesn't...he doesn't do stuff like that."

Vlad warned himself not to look too worried. Although his mind endlessly strove to predict the Collector's mysterious actions and his heart still raced wildly with unfamiliar trepidation, Vlad willed himself to stay collected on the outside for Danny's sake. Vlad couldn't have the group panicking. It wouldn't do any of them any good. Still, it wasn't as if he could keep the information a secret. They needed to know what they were up against.

"I know, Danny. I know," Vlad finally said, putting his hands on his hips to steady his nerves. Grimly, the man explained what he could, "While you had no memories, the Curator threatened me, or, really, all of us. He told me he didn't mind seeing you in that state. The next time another ghost in here attacks us, don't hold onto any hope that the Curator will help us."

Just looking down at Danny and imaging him having to go through the same painful process of losing all his memories again forced Vlad to grit his teeth._ This is why you should never become attached to people_, Vlad chided himself in his head. _Once you become attached, you become vulnerable. Vulnerability was something you used to refuse to have. This change of heart...it won't end well...yet I can't stop it...And, yes. It does make me scared. More scared than I will ever let on._

Danny tried his best not to look as horrified as he felt, but he wasn't sure that he did a very good job of it. He swallowed hard, nodding slowly as he attempted to not freak out. He'd already made himself look wimpy enough today. He didn't want to push his wimpy limits.

"That's...that's, uh-" the teen broke off and ran both his hands through his hair, unwilling shudders passing down his spine. He never wanted to go through that experience again. Even though his memories had been returned, his head still ached, and it felt like he was forgetting something. It was just a constant nagging feeling in the back of his mind, and it was driving him nuts.

Releasing a shaky breath, Danny finally looked up at Vlad. The teen couldn't help but be envious of how in control the man looked. He was scared, but Vlad didn't even look worried at all. He just looked mad. Danny wished that he could do the same. He wanted to be fearless too, but he wasn't sure if he could do that.

Forcing his expression to become firm like Vlad's, Danny murmured quietly, "We need to find the ghost that took my memories."

"Agreed," Vlad said with a nod. "We can do that tonight. But first, let's have lunch. The others will have to know what happened to you and the threat too. That way, we can make a group decision about confronting Veronica. We can't jump too quickly into things."

That's when Vlad noticed Danny's shoulders shaking slightly and his blanched face. Although Danny's expression was strong, his body language betrayed him. From what Vlad could see, Danny looked ill.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Vlad asked more seriously.

Danny glanced up at Vlad before looking away again. He wished he could just look right at the man, flash a snarky smile, and tell him that he was ready to kick some butt. He wanted to feel confident like he did when he was Danny Phantom, but he knew that wasn't possible right now. For the first time in a while, he felt genuinely scared, and he knew he couldn't hide that from Vlad. The man always saw right through his lies.

"No," he muttered miserably at the floor. He pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead and closed his eyes. "I can't fight someone who can take my memories away," Danny said, his voice barely above a whisper. "What if...what if it happens again? None of us can do anything and...and the Collector isn't going to help. I-there's nothing I can do. I-I can't do anything."

The teen closed his mouth and shook his head, not willing to go on. He wasn't even sure if he could.

With an ache in his heart, Vlad realized Danny was slowly cracking. This latest ordeal had really shaken him up. Danny was used to being useful. Being a superhero for so many months had taught him to take part in helping others, discovering problems, and fixing them once and for all. In this situation, though, there was none of that, and the boy didn't know what to do. Thankfully, Vlad knew.

"Hey, stop thinking like that," Vlad said sternly as he placed a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder. "Thinking like that will get you nowhere. The Curator ordered Veronica not to use her powers. She can't hurt you or anyone else right now, so for the moment there is nothing to worry about. We'll just have to be more careful with our plans, that's all."

"But what about the other ghosts?" Danny asked, peeking up at Vlad with uncertain eyes. He was trying his best to listen to Vlad and take what he was saying to heart, but it was hard for him. Danny had never felt like this before. He just felt useless and weak, and he hated it. He was scared for himself and for everyone else, especially Ryder and Melody. They were just humans. What if he couldn't protect them when they needed him?

"The only ones who like us are Faze and Charles. Charles is totally nuts and senile, and he only listens to Ryder, and Faze is too much of a jerk to ever help if we needed him. And the Collector isn't gonna help us anymore..."

Danny looked away again, pressing his lips together as he swallowed down his rising fear. "There's way more ghosts than us in here," the teen said quietly. "I...I don't think we can fight them all, Vlad."

"We won't have to," Vlad was quick to reassure the teen. "And not all the ghosts in here are out to get us. Only a few are, so don't pull that kind of excuse with me or on yourself. I've seen you throw yourself in scrapes much harder than this one and come out unscathed. Even in those cases you were underprepared and too brash for your own good. So when the time comes where you will have to fight to get out of here, I know you will succeed. You're already fighting now. And although it doesn't look like we're winning currently, the best thing we can do is keep fighting.

"Right now, Melody and Ryder need you," Vlad continued. "You don't have to fake your emotions when you're with them. All they need to know is that you are still with them and that you will keep fighting with them. Just know that they have your back and that...that I have your back, too. We'll be fine if we stick together. You don't have to worry so much."

Danny remained silent for several moments before he lifted his eyes up and met Vlad's steady gaze. He'd never thought that the man could actually be reassuring, but he definitely possessed that skill too. He'd been just as stern and comforting as Danny needed him to be. He didn't feel extremely confident, but there was definitely an uplifting feeling that went with Vlad's words.

A small smile came to the teen's face as he nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I know," he agreed softly. "I'm not gonna stop fighting until we all get out of here. I just...I worry about you guys, but I've got your back, too." Danny smiled a little bigger as he said, "I know we're gonna win. He'll never beat us."

Vlad couldn't help but grin at Danny's switch in attitude. It was interesting how such a simple pep talk could lift the boy's spirits. What was even more interesting was the fact that a few weeks ago Vlad would have rolled his eyes at how sappy he probably sounded. But now...now Vlad could almost believe his own words. And they gave him hope, a hope that hadn't been there for a long time.

"Exactly," Vlad said with a sly grin. "There's the overconfident attitude I was looking for. Say something sarcastic, and I think I'll have you back to normal."

Danny raised an eyebrow and grinned as he cheekily said, "And we're positive that _I_ was the one who got my memories taken away? We're sure about this?" He lightly shoved Vlad in the arm and playfully added, "I think you're the confused one if you're asking for my sarcasm, cheesehead."

"Oh, ho, ho," Vlad said playfully. "Trust me, my boy. Having you normal is more preferable than how you were behaving with your memories gone."

Danny's smile faltered for a moment as his mind instantly shot to the hugging incident. He cringed and quickly forced himself to chuckle and shake his head. The best thing to do was act like he didn't remember a thing. There was no way Vlad could call him out on that.

"I can't even imagine," Danny said, rolling his eyes to the side as he pretended to think about it. "Actually, I don't want to imagine. Let's just be happy I'm back to normal because I know you missed my witty comments." His grin became more natural as he innocently asked, "Right, Vlad?"

"If you can call them witty," Vlad shot back teasingly. "Oh, but you know how much I appreciate your sarcasm, Daniel."

"Oh, yeah, you definitely love it," Danny agreed, smirking as he nodded along to what Vlad had said. "It's basically like music to your ears or a chorus of singing angels. Yep, pretty much the same deal."

A/N: Aw! Vlad's and Danny's teasing sessions are beginning to turn more playful than mean. Too bad it's coming at the time the Collector is snapping. Oh, so much fun stuff ahead! Anyways, I'll see you guys next weekend with probably a double update as before!


	19. Chapter 19 Hair One Day, Gone Tomorrow

A/N: Look at me updating on time! Ha ha! Joking aside, I want to thank everyone for their reviews last chapter! There was a lot of feedback, and it was exciting to hear from so many people! So thanks, and enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom doesn't belong to either ML or me, but everything else does.

Previously In The Collector: When a ghost painfully takes away Danny's memories, Vlad has to take action in getting the teen help. He goes the extra mile and personally takes Danny to the Infirmary with the Collector. Along the way, the Collector has a dangerous change of heart and tells Vlad that he won't be helping the humans out with their problems anymore. He even went so far as to manipulate Vlad into admitting he actually cares about Danny now. What will the Collector do with this information, well, you readers will just have to find out later.

Chapter 19 Hair One Day, Gone Tomorrow

Danny yawned softly and ran a hand across his tired face. It was late at night, probably later than he'd normally been staying up in this place. After he and Vlad had relayed his story of memory loss and the Collector's creepiness to Melody and Ryder, it had been decided that the group would confront Veronica that day. They all knew that it would be unwise to leave her as a loose-end.

The teen nearly fell out of his seat on the picnic table's bench when Ryder appeared and slammed his hands down at the end of the table. Grinning and looking proud of himself, the thief said, "I got her."

When no one responded to his clearly overdramatic statement, Ryder sighed and muttered, "No one appreciates drama anymore." Waving his hands quickly, the man continued, "I asked Chuck about her like you guys said. He just pointed her out to me now. Sorry it took so long. He got distracted easily."

"No, that's cool," Danny said, groaning as he straightened out his sore back. "We've just been sitting here for three hours. No big deal."

"Although I'm sure it wasn't just Charles being distracted," Vlad muttered as he rubbed his right temple, "at least now we know who she is."

"Then let's go talk," Melody said as she swiftly got to her feet. The girl was fully ready to go at it with the ghost. She didn't appreciate other ghosts antagonizing the group, even if it was Danny.

As he got to his feet, Vlad told everyone, "Remember, we are simply talking to her. We're not there to intimidate or anything of that sort. We're just asking a few questions. The last thing we want to do is provoke another attack."

"Yeah. I know this," Melody stated.

"Which means you know you should behave nicely," Vlad said with a thin smile.

"I can do that," she scoffed back.

"I'm sure."

"Basically, he's saying you shouldn't say anything," Danny pointed out for Melody, flashing a grin as he stood up.

"Oh snap," Ryder chuckled out, raising a hand up for Danny to high-five. The teen didn't hesitate to initiate the high-five, smiling the entire time. Even though Melody was giving him a death glare, it was still totally worth it to tease her. Not only was it fun, but it kept the mood light as well.

Grinning despite the glare aimed at him, Ryder turned and led the group back in the direction he'd come from. They each stuck close to each other as they entered the ghost territory at the far end of the room. The ghosts tended to stay as far away from the humans as possible, and they did so by either staying in their display cases at all times or simply hanging away from the cabins and eating area.

After scanning the clusters of ghosts around them, Ryder stopped and pointed at the lone ghost floating in the corner with her legs crossed Indian style. "That's her," the thief said and nodded.

Veronica was a slim figured girl wearing a long, black dress that wavered and floated around her like a heavy fog. In fact, her entire form seemed to be made completely of shadow and smoke. It was as if she would disappear if a strong enough wind blew through the room. Her hair was as equally long and dark as her outfit, and it hung around her face, almost blocking out her bored looking brown eyes.

That was what the group noticed most about her. She looked like a very bored, very unamused young woman.

"Oh, she looks sort of creepy," Melody whispered to the group as they casually advanced toward the ghost girl.

"You believe all ghosts are creepy," Vlad pointed out blandly.

"That's not true," Melody protested. "I actually think Chuck's an adorable old fart. He reminds me of my grandpa."

"Hey, he's my friend. Back off," Ryder hissed over to Melody.

"Can we focus here?" Danny interrupted the two thieves before they could start arguing like they were notorious for doing. He rolled his eyes but stopped when he noticed that Veronica's lazy gaze was focused directly on them.

After heaving a sigh, the girl propped her chin on her knee and muttered in a monotonous voice, "I'm surprised it took you all this long to come and talk to me. I was told you were much more annoying and persistent. What a pity."

The group stopped about a yard away from where Veronica was monotonously hovering. None of them really wanted to get closer. They knew the ghost was powerful because of what she had done to Danny, and it wasn't like her demeanor and apathetic tone were very welcoming.

To avoid crossing his arms and coming off as aggressive, Vlad put his hands into his pockets. His first impression of Veronica wasn't how he expected. She didn't look like anyone who was vindictive or angry. If anything, she seemed rather bored. He wondered why she would attack them if that was her true attitude. Hopefully it hadn't just been for fun. With that thought, Vlad decided it was time to start their conversation. Since the others were remaining uncharacteristically quiet, Vlad brandished the leadership role without complaint.

"Who told you we were persistent and annoying?" Vlad asked, quirking an eyebrow in interest.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Veronica said, without lifting her chin from her palm, "I'll give you a hint. He's big. He's dumb. And he's ugly." There was a pause as the group of humans silently glanced at each other, all thinking the same thing. Before they could comment, though, the ghost girl muttered, "No takers? Such a shame."

"We all know who he is," Vlad said. "We just don't know his name. And I'm surprised you actually talk to a ghost like him. I'm certain his conversations are less than stimulating. Trust me, I myself have tried to start one with the brute. You don't seem like a girl who would be interested in such a mundane task of talking to him."

"Oh, I'm not," Veronica answered in that dreary tone of hers. "Believe me, if I had the choice of participating in one of his conversations, I'm pretty sure I'd try to kill myself...again." She gave a small, wistful look at the thought before focusing back on the humans in front of her. "His name is Gregory, by the way. I'm sure it'll be easier to insult him knowing that."

"Yeah, it does! Thanks!" Ryder jumped in before anyone else could respond. His smile slowly faded when he got a look from the group that told him to be quiet, and he pouted down at the ground.

Veronica smirked without amusement and shook her head. Rolling her eyes towards the ceiling, the ghost muttered, "Oh, bonebags. You never cease being moronic. Of course, everyone in here is retarded, so I guess I can't hold that against you."

"Then I don't see how you know anything about us if you never talked to Gregory," Vlad said as he scrutinized the dreary young lady ghost. She was surprisingly verbose about everything, so Vlad went out on a limb and asked, "Honestly, we would like to know why you targeted Danny in the first place. Did someone like Gregory, for example, ask you to it?"

This question finally got Veronica to glance away from the far wall she'd been staring at, and she looked up at Vlad, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, meatsack, you don't know what you're getting into," she said with a shake of her head. The girl shrugged and removed her chin from her palm as she stretched her arms up over her head.

"If you must know, yes, good ol' Greg told me about you. He told me what he wanted me to do. There's no arguing with that idiot. Either you just do as he says or he'll hound you for days on end." Veronica's eyes shifted to Danny, and she stared into his angry face unsympathetically. "I would say I'm sorry about what I did, but I'm not. I didn't need the headache. So, instead, I gave Danny one."

Veronica brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes as she added, "Life's a bitch, isn't it?"

"Life isn't the only thing that's a bitch," Melody growled back, her voice and glare cold as ice.

"Careful, you might just make me cry," Veronica droned back, her eyes barely breezing across Melody's face. She wasn't fazed by the insult at all.

"So you're saying that you killed my brain for _no_ reason!" Danny shouted at the ghost, unable to control his temper any longer. Maybe if the girl had a legitimate reason for doing what she'd done, he would've cut her some slack. But she didn't. She didn't even feel bad about it!

Veronica shrugged and inspected her fingernails. "Sure. If you want to look at it like that, go right ahead," she replied without emotion.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Vlad held his hand up to his group and shot each of them a reprimanding glare. He thought they had all agreed not to behave this way. Although he was just as angry as they all were about the ghost's attitude, he knew yelling at Veronica wasn't going to give them many results.

Turning back toward Veronica, Vlad asked her tersely, "What was Gregory's motive to ask you to hurt Danny? And why was it specifically Danny? It could have just as easily have been Ryder or me."

Veronica just shrugged passively. "I don't know," she answered, looking seconds away from yawning in boredom. "When that man speaks, I mostly just hear static. I'm sure he's the equivalent of a talking trash can." The ghost paused, her brown eyes drifting across the varied expression of the humans around her.

Her own expression didn't change as she heaved another sigh. "Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. I don't like people. I don't like ghosts. Hell, I don't like anyone. So don't bother taking what I say to heart because it's just a waste of your time, and it's not like you're gonna make me happy by doing it."

The ghost girl leveled her stare on Danny. "I saw your memories when I was in your head. I know you're pissed at me, and I know you're a frumpy do-gooder and probably didn't deserve what I did to you. But let it go, bonebag." Her gaze went back to Vlad as she said, "I've spent centuries in this museum. I know how it works. You're not even close to figuring it out. Do yourselves a favor and mind your own business."

For a moment the group was silent. Vlad stared back at Veronica, his expression an impassive mystery as he studied the ghost and reviewed what she just told him. Coming to a swift conclusion, the man frowned. He believed what Veronica said was all the truth. He believed they weren't nearly as close to an escape as they probably thought they were, and that was a hard realization to swallow for the man.

"Why have you stayed in this museum for so long?" Vlad finally asked. Inclining his head, Vlad questioned more importantly, "And how did the Curator gain so much of his power?"

"I have nowhere else to go," Veronica answered. She was silent for a moment before she let out a soft, bitter chuckle and matched Vlad's stare without flinching. "You're asking the right question...but the wrong person," Veronica replied, gaze drifting off to focus out on the distance. "I've spent too long here to ruin what I have going for you four."

"Wait! But that's not fair!" Ryder snapped before anyone else could speak. He'd been trying to stay quiet after Vlad glared at him, but he couldn't do that for very long. "If you know, just tell us!"

Veronica rolled her eyes, muttering dryly, "Does it look like I care? I'm wasting my valuable time speaking to you as it is." The girl unfolded her legs as she floated to the floor like she was preparing to walk away from them. She sized Danny up with a narrowed eyed stare before doing the same to Melody, Ryder, and lastly Vlad. "None of you are stupid. If you made it here, obviously, you have something in your heads. Try using it for a change."

-One Day Later-

The table at dinner the next day was abnormally quiet. Ever since their conversation with Veronica the night before, the four humans had slowly began to retrogress into their own pondering. Overall, the mood of the group was melancholy as each of them either silently ate their food or poked the mush around on their plate in an attempt to pretend they had an appetite.

Before going off to bed the other night, Vlad had suggested they put a pause on their escape plans. The threat to Danny's health had gone over the line, and the Collector's response had been a twist Vlad hadn't seen coming. The ghost had gone completely against character. Vlad realized he needed to back up and think about their situation some more before implementing another plan. To prevent pushing the Collector too far, there would be absolutely no escape attempts for the next week.

With such a dark, threatening cloud hanging over their heads, the group of humans had understandably come down with a bad case of depression.

"Okay, this needs to stop!"

Danny, Vlad, and Melody each looked up from their own pondering and stared at Ryder in silent wonderment. Somehow, the man still managed to surprise them with his randomness.

The thief gave everyone at the table a firm look and pointed gravelly at them with his spoon as he said, "Someone talk about something nice. Right now. This whole drama llama thing needs to end, like, stat. I'm serious. See this serious face? Totally serious. Not joking here, people. I am _not_ sitting here another second with you Debbie Downers. You're messing up my vibe!"

Once he knew what all the commotion was about, Vlad rolled his eyes before going back to staring unseeingly at his food. As the man listlessly used his spoon to move the mush around, Melody slowly swallowed her own mouthful before saying quietly, "I'm sorry, Ryder, but if we don't feel like talking, we're not going to talk. Your vibe will just have to suffer until we're in a better mood."

"Gonna have to agree with Melody on this one," Danny said, propping his cheek against his fist as he shoved his pile of mush into a volcanic shape. He wasn't in the mood to say anything. Ever since Veronica had given his memories back, he found himself thinking of his friends and family much more than usual. Though this made him happy, it also put him in a depressed funk as well. He just wished that he could tell them that he was alright...for the most part, that is.

Looking extremely put-out, Ryder turned his pout onto Vlad. When he saw that the man was also in silent agreement with the other two, he threw his hands in the air out of pure frustration.

"Grah! Cut it out!" the thief practically yelled at the table. Ryder hated it when everyone was quiet and solemn. It made him feel like he was at a funeral or something.

"Look, if you guys don't stop it, I'm gonna have to take..." Ryder leaned forward and lowered his voice to a intimidating growl, "..._drastic measures_."

"Give it a rest, Ryder," Melody muttered sulkily. "We're in no mood for your overdramatic behavior tonight. Just shut up and eat your food."

Ryder remained silent as he narrowed his eyes back at Melody. He didn't look mad...but Danny knew that expression. It was the stubborn frown Ryder got when he was about to do something, well, drastic. The teen wanted to say something that would stop this from happening, but he decided to stay quiet for the moment. Maybe Ryder would be able to fix their unhappy situation. It was a nice thought.

Without saying a word, Ryder thunked his spoon onto the table and stood up. He didn't even look at the rest of the group as he strode quickly over to the food window and began to speak to the ghost inside.

"Um...what's he doing?" Danny slowly asked, raising his eyebrows when he saw Ryder turn away from the window, two separate food trays in hand. He set them down on a table close to the window before turning around and going back for more. "I don't like this..."

Looking up from his wandering thoughts, Vlad noticed the extra plates of food Ryder was collecting and frowned in confusion. He didn't know what Ryder's curious brain was up to, but Vlad knew it wouldn't be something good if it included a mountain load of glowing, edible ghost mush.

Swiftly, the man looked left and right at Melody and Danny. With little to no interest, Melody watched Ryder work as she gnawed absentmindedly on her spoon. Danny was watching too, but with more naive inquisitiveness, as if he actually wanted to know what Ryder's plans were despite what he'd just said.

_This needs to stop before it gets out of hand_, Vlad thought with an inward sigh._ And it _will _get out of hand._

"Ryder?" Vlad sternly addressed the thief as the man came back with more plates of food. "Ryder, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just _really_ hungry," Ryder answered Vlad after he'd brought back his sixth plate of food and stacked them precariously on the table beside Melody, Danny and Vlad. He then stood in front of the trays so that the only way anyone could reach them was if they went around or through him.

"You're joking...right?" Danny questioned, eyeing the trays of food uneasily. He was sure Ryder had to be joking. They all knew what had happened the last time that someone ate too much of the mystery mush.

Crossing his arms firmly over his chest, Ryder looked down on the three and addressed them as formally as possible. "This is how this is going to work..." The thief quickly dunked his hand into a plate of mush and hefted up a good palmful of the stuff. "You guys are going to cheer up and start acting like you're having a good time..." Ryder grinned quite deviously as he finished darkly, "..._or else_."

Danny looked from the gunk in Ryder's hand to the man's face. After a pause, he muttered without expecting an answer, "You're not joking, are you?"

"Oh, please," Melody scoffed with a condescending smile. "You wouldn't dare, Ryder. You know what I would do to you if you messed up my hair."

"Don't provoke him, Miss Hart," Vlad told her warily. Offering Ryder a weak smile, Vlad said to the mush-brandishing thief, "Let's be sensible, Mr. Walker." On second thought, Vlad realized sensible wasn't a word he would ever use to describe the man, so he switched his tactics to stalling. "I mean...of course we can talk about something happy. Go ahead, Daniel. You're probably better at this than I am."

Giving a sharp laugh, Melody shook her head at the pair while saying, "He's just threatening us. It's not like he's going to do anything."

Before Danny could even open his mouth to try and say anything cheery, he had to lean back in his seat a bit as a mushy projectile flew past his head. There was a loud _splatting_ sound followed by a cry of disgust, and the boy quickly looked over to Melody, his eyes wide in shock.

Ryder had thrown the entire wad of gunk in his hand directly into Melody's face with little to no remorse. In fact, the thief was grinning widely as he reached for more ammo and proclaimed, "I never threaten, Queen Mush-Hair. I dare! I always dare!"

Too shocked to say or do anything, Melody just blinked in astonishment as goo rolled down her face and into her hair. With feverish hands and sharp gasps, the girl wiped the mush off her face and spat some out of her mouth. As soon as her hands traveled to her hair, the switch was flipped. Melody's eyes narrowed into frosty slits as her gaze roamed back over to Ryder.

"I'm going to wipe that moronic smile off your stupid face," Melody growled darkly, scooping up the last bit of her meal in both her hands. With venom and gusto, the girl flung her ball of mush at Ryder with full intention to hurt.

Ryder had seen the move coming a mile away and was able to swiftly duck the deadly ball of mush that had been aimed at his face. Chuckling in delight at how brilliantly his plan was working, the thief scooped up another handful of gunk and flung it at Vlad, shouting, "Think fast!"

Eyes going wide, Vlad instinctively went intangible. The rest of the group watched in collective dismay as the wad of mush phased through Vlad's chest and splattered on the floor. There was a brief silence as all Vlad did in response was glare heatedly back at Ryder. At last, he asked in a growl, "What was that for, Mr. Walker?"

"That's not even close to being fair," Melody seethed. And before anyone could react, the girl lunged forward, grabbed a handful of Vlad's own uneaten mush, and lobbed it into the man's face with a vicious smile. "That's how you're supposed to take it, Batman," she gloated into his astounded face.

Wiping away some of the mush from his eye, Vlad glowered dangerously back at the girl as he slowly stood up. The group watched as Vlad calmly picked up Danny's plate, paused for suspense, then unexpectedly turned it over and onto Danny's head. His deed finished, Vlad dusted off his hands and smirked triumphantly down at the boy.

Danny didn't react with rage for a moment as he shook his head, flinging mush from the strands of his now sticky hair in every direction. Once he realized that there was no way that feeling was going to go away anytime soon, the teen slowly raised his gaze, glared heatedly at Vlad, and muttered, "Oh...oh, this is war now."

"Yes!" Ryder declared with a hooting laugh. "Yes! Yes, it is!"

That properly shouted, the thief grabbed up another tray and started throwing the contents of it first at Melody, then Vlad and Danny as he ran for cover behind the other picnic tables.

With grins on their faces, the rest of the group joined the fight.

Grabbing his own plate, Vlad used the object as a shield as Danny threw handfuls of mush at him in an act of revenge. Just as he was about throw another gob back, Melody nailed the man in the side of the head.

"Oh, that is _disgusting_," Vlad said with a grimace. "Thank you for that. That went right into my ear."

Giggling maliciously, Melody opened her mouth to relish in her victory, but the win was short lived as a wave of mush hit her body. With a short scream, the girl tripped on the now mush-laden floor and landed painfully on her butt.

At this point, Vlad couldn't help but let out a laugh. Leaning over the table at his downed comrade, the man said nothing as he dropped a glob of mush into the girl's lap. But as he was distracted by getting back at Melody, Vlad had opened himself to Ryder's and Danny's attacks.

As if the two were sharing the same mind, Danny and Ryder grinned wickedly and quickly lobbed dual handfuls of mush at Vlad. Danny's attacks hit the man in the stomach and chest while Ryder's unmercifully collided with the back of his head and back.

Letting out a loud laugh, Danny yelled, "That's a nice look for you, Vlad! I think you shoul- crap!" The teen had to break off when Ryder turned rogue on him and hit him right in the chest with deadly accuracy. Like Melody, Danny easily lost his balance and slipped on the gunky floor, landing flat on his back.

He took a moment to stare up at the ceiling in silence before he started cracking up. Danny clutched at his stomach as he rolled onto his side and dramatically said, "Lights fading...I'm hit, I'm hit." The teen looked up at Vlad, fighting down his uncontrollable chuckles. "Go...on...without...me...Vlad."

Danny gave the man one last pathetic look before he closed his eyes and pretended to die on the floor...to Ryder's intense amusement.

"Farewell, fellow accomplice," Vlad said over dramatically with a shake of his head. He put his hands on his hips while looking down at Danny with a grin. "Shame. He didn't last very long."

Looking up at Ryder, Vlad grabbed two handfuls of mush as him and the thief faced off like dueling, gun-slinging cowboys in the middle of an old western town. With both their partners down for the count, it was up to Ryder and Vlad to finish the food battle.

Raising an eyebrow, Vlad asked Ryder in amusement, "How have you not gotten a single stain?"

"Because I'm awesome," Ryder shot back as he grinned manically. He paused before adding offhandedly, "_Aaand_ 'cause you guys were fighting each other. That helped too."

The thief narrowed his eyes as he quickly got back into character as the dastardly evil food bandit. "This museum isn't big enough for the two of us, Vlad," he said, sounding uncharacteristically serious even as he continued to smile like an idiot. "One of us is gonna go down, and it's not gonna be me so you might as well just give it up-"

Ryder broke off mid-speech as he slung both of his remaining globs of food at Vlad while he threw himself to the side to avoid Vlad's retaliation attack.

Reacting fast to Ryder's dirty trick, Vlad expertly flung himself forward and into a duck roll. He narrowly missed the first sludge shot, came out of the roll in a kneel, and simultaneously hurled both handfuls of mush. Soon as the balls of slop left his hands, Vlad was hit square in the chest with Ryder's second shot.

Looking down at the splatter of food paste on his chest, Vlad's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I assume this means I died," he chuckled over to Ryder.

Ryder slowly opened his eyes and peered over at Vlad as he rolled onto his back and looked down to see if he'd been hit. Amazingly, he was still completely clean and, therefore, the winner of the match. His grin returned tenfold as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Yep! You're dead," he told Vlad, nodding proudly. He pointed over to Danny who was still pretending to have died and said, "You should pretend die, too. It's part of the rules."

"What rules?" Vlad sneered as he unsteadily got to his feet. "Besides, I'm tired of rules."

"Hey, unfair," Ryder muttered in a pout when Vlad got up instead of flopping to the side like he was no longer living. The thief's moodiness disappeared as he jumped nimbly to his feet and surveyed the destruction and damage that he'd caused. He placed his hands on his hips and let out a happy sigh. "Man, I love fun. Don't you guys love fun? It's awesome. We should do that again sometime!"

Danny opened one eye from where he was sprawled on the floor and said with a grin, "Pass. I'm probably gonna have this crap in my hair for the next two weeks...especially with the showers still broken. Gross."

"Oh, you're just mad that you're dead," Ryder waved the teen off with a grin and shake of his hand. He knew the boy had enjoyed himself.

"Oh, no! Crap! Don't remind me about the broken showers!" Melody cried out as she used the picnic table's bench to get up. Dangling a piece of her dirty hair that looked very similar to a wad of something someone found in a clogged sink, Melody whined, "I'm not sure if I can sleep with myself looking and smelling like glowing ghost porridge. This is horrible, guys."

"And who's fault is that?" Vlad asked with a nefarious smirk, offering Danny a hand. "You're the one who started the entire fight."

"He's got a point, Melody," Danny said, agreeing with Vlad for once as he smiled and took the man's hand. Once he was back on his feet, he looked down at himself with a grimace. "We probably smell...like, totally awful."

"Just breathe through your mouth," Ryder suggested in what he probably thought was an incredibly helpful tone. He picked his way across the battlefield, careful to avoid getting any food on him as he approached the rest of the group. "That's what I do, anyway."

Just before Danny could comment sarcastically on that statement, his eyes were drawn to the main sliding doors opening. His smile slowly faded when he saw the Collector stride into the room, pause, and stare around at the mess the humans had created before leveling the group with a firm glare.

"Oh...that's not good," Danny mumbled, inching a step closer to Vlad as the Collector approached. He was still very wary of the ghost after the threat he'd made.

The Collector stopped just in front of the group, floating just high enough into the air to avoid touching any of the mush on the ground. He took another moment to look around at the picnic area in silent wonderment before he asked with a distinct rumble in his voice, "I..._suppose_ one of you has an explanation for this?"

The entire group went awkwardly silent. No one wanted to push the blame onto anyone or take it upon his or her self to answer the ghost. Fear of punishment was pretty high at the moment. If getting out of it meant keeping a tight lip, the group was prepared to play mute. Vlad avoided looking at anyone other than the Collector just in case him staring at someone else might condemn them.

Just before it looked like no one was going to answer, Melody heaved a light sigh from her seated position on the picnic table where she was wringing paste out of her hair. She didn't seem as perturbed as the others in the room as she said without looking up from her job, "We got bored, sir."

The Collector sent her a confused look, complete with an arched eyebrow. Before he could respond, Ryder piped up timidly with, "Yeah...it was fun."

"Fun?" the ghost repeated the word as if it was utterly foreign to him. He glanced around at the mess again as he muttered, completely bewildered, "How is this fun?"

"Because we pretended to die," Ryder supplied casually. He was always the one who didn't seem to mind speaking to the Collector when he was pissed off. The thief shuffled his feet and continued, "Except Vlad. He wouldn't pretend because he was mad that I killed him and won. But Danny did."

If possible, this explanation only seemed to confuse the Curator further, and he shook his head slowly, deciding not to question Ryder anymore. Instead, the ghost's eyes slid across each human, a gradual frown coming to his expression as he inspected the state of each of them. "You all are filthy and disgusting," he eventually said, his lip curled in distaste. "You should be ashamed for letting yourselves come to this state...Excluding you, Mr. Walker."

The Curator nodded to the thief as he praised him, "Well done."

"Hey, thanks!" Ryder exclaimed, a smile blooming to his face. He dusted off his clean shoulder, saying, "I know I've got skills when it comes down to food fights. You don't have to tell me that. I used to start 'em all the time in school. Ah, so classic."

Melody rolled her eyes. "You would be that dork in high school that always started the food fights," she grumbled distastefully. She was still pretty upset about how gross she looked and felt. Sitting back in her seat, Melody tilted her head in her usual cute, flippant manner as she asked the Collector, "What are you going to do about us, then?"

"Clean you off, of course," the Collector replied as if it was obvious. When the ghost noticed the relieved reactions of the humans, he let a sly, unpleasant smile cross his face. "However, Miss Hart, I can assure you..." He lowered his voice and leaned forward a bit to finish, "...You won't enjoy how I plan to do it."

Danny swallowed hard, shivering as the disturbing atmosphere around the Collector came back tenfold. He'd thought that the creepiness would go down a little with time, but he was sorely mistaken. Glancing up at Vlad, the teen whispered to him, "I don't like the sound of that."

Vlad carefully looked down and met Danny's gaze. After years of being evil himself, Vlad knew all the kinds of horrible things that could be going through the Collector's head. "Honestly, I don't care for anything he says," Vlad whispered back. "This won't end well."

"What do you mean?" Melody asked the Collector, trying hard to keep a waver out of her voice. She did a good job of looking unintimidated as she threw the ghost a confused glare.

"I suppose that's for me to know, and you to find out, Miss Hart," the Collector answered airily. He chuckled, shaking his head as he said, "When it is all over, I can't help but wonder if you'll still think your actions today were...'fun'." He aimed his dark look solely on Melody and smirked, "Perhaps next time you will consider rethinking your actions when you become bored."

Whitish eyes flicking to the side, the Collector addressed the nervous looking Ryder with a small smile, "Congratulations, Mr. Walker. For remaining clean, you may exempt yourself from what is to come."

Gulping noticeably, Ryder said, "Oh...that's great."

"Look," Melody sighed as she got to her feet, "we're sorry we made a mess, okay? We can clean it up. There's no harm done. We were just having some fun. You probably don't understand because you've never experienced a food fight. I don't see why-."

The girl faded off when she noticed Vlad subtly shaking his head from side to side in warning. She didn't understand what Vlad was trying to say to her, but she assumed it was to shut up. On second thought, Melody decided she wasn't going to let the man decide her words and actions. Pride bubbling back up, Melody shook her head and ignored the man by plowing on.

"I don't see why we should all get punished for this," she continued. "We didn't try to escape this time. We didn't do anything wrong."

The Curator simply smiled back at her as if she was nothing but an amusing little puppy trying to get his attention. "I'm afraid sorry just isn't going to cut it this time, Miss Hart," he murmured delicately. The ghost stopped, staring at Melody with narrowed eyes as his smile grew. He had already made his stance clear to Danny and Vlad. Now it was high time that the prideful Melody got the message as well.

His observations of the girl had led him to one outcome that would make sure his authority stayed with her. The time had finally come to implement that plan.

"In fact, speaking of cutting..." The Collector pointed at Melody, saying, "_Sit down, Miss Hart. Do not move until I come back_."

Chuckling like he knew the punch line to a funny joke, the Collector shook his head and turned to exit the room without another word. Melody immediately sat down after the command, worry for the first time crossing her face. Everyone waited for the Collector to leave the room before reacting.

Striding over to the table Melody sat at, Vlad asked the girl in deep frustration, "Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I don't know," Melody lied in a pout, fiddling with her hair as she stared down a the table. She was truly concerned now, but she didn't want to admit it or the fact that she had just caused her own punishment. It was incredibly embarrassing.

"Yes, you do know!" Vlad snapped back angrily. "You disobeyed me because of that giant head of pride of yours! You thought since you were able to talk your way out of one punishment you would be able to get out of this one. I told you yesterday that things are different. He's going to make an example out of you. You know this, don't you?"

"What...what was I supposed to do?" Melody barked back.

"You could have kept your mouth shut like I warned you to," Vlad said, leaning across the table to address the girl. He paused before saying more quietly, "You're not going to like this punishment."

"But...it's-it's not like he's gonna hurt you or anything," Danny spoke up, trying his best to hide his anxieties. He hoped his reassuring voice didn't sound as incredibly pathetic as he thought it did. The teen glanced over to Ryder when he caught the man glaring firmly at the door the Collector had just left through.

"He better not do anything or...or...I'll kick his butt!" Ryder vowed angrily. He actually sounded more frustrated than he did scared.

"Ryder, don't-" Danny broke off, his eyes widening when he saw the door to the room re-open.

The Collector came striding confidently back inside, holding his head high as his creepy gaze stayed locked on Melody. He didn't even break his gaze as he ordered, "_Mr. Masters, Fenton, and Walker, do stand over there. Yes, right there. Good_. We wouldn't want to miss the show, now would we?"

Once the boys had been forced to stand side-by-side in front of the table Melody sat at, the Collector approached the girl, his smile anywhere from comforting. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder as he murmured, "I noticed how...unkempt your hair is today, my dear. So, being the caring man that I am, I decided to solve that problem for you. I hope you don't mind."

The ghost slowly reached into the inner jacket pocket of his suit and pulled out a pair of gleaming silver scissors. He held them loosely in his hand, tightening his hold on Melody's shoulder, and said, "_No moving now, Miss Hart. I don't want you squirming around_. It would be most unsafe, you understand. I have yet to attempt this before so...cross your fingers, hm?"

The Collector pulled his hand away from the girl's shoulder and let his fingers run through her long, sticky hair. Most of it had clumped together from the food fight, but he didn't mind. He wasn't going to be delicate about this. The ghost let his hand trail down so that his fingers rested against the nape of Melody's neck. That was where he stopped.

As he raised the scissors and opened them up, he glanced over to the men watching him and smiled just a little. He didn't know why it amused him to see the varying expressions of angry and disgust across their faces, but it truly did.

"Say farewell, Miss Hart," the Collector chuckled, pulling the girl's hair taut as he made one clean cut through her golden locks.

Melody had her eyes tightly squeezed shut. She had kept herself for the most part composed during the procedure that led up to the cutting, but that was mostly because of her inability to believe the Collector would actually stoop so low and be so awful as to cut her hair. It was her most highly prized possession; her pride and joy. The act was just unthinkable.

Soon as her hair fell away, though, Melody began to breathe hard as a swell of emotions attacked her: anger, humiliation, horror, confusion, and anguish. Despite her best efforts to keep herself calm and steady, Melody shook uncontrollably as tears welled up in her eyes. Quickly, she turned her head away from the boys. She hated herself for looking so weak, especially in front of everyone she knew and actually cared about. It was as if she was on some kind of sick display that was even worse than the one she lived in while she was trapped in the museum.

"There now," the Collector said as he dropped the girl's hair onto the table in front of her. He brought a hand up to his chin and rubbed it as he inspected his handiwork. "I think I did a wonderful job, Miss Hart. I'm sure you'll love it when you get a chance to see it," he added, completely ignoring her tears. It was like he didn't even see how upset he'd made the girl.

In fact, he was almost positive that he didn't care. He was sure he...enjoyed this new sense of power he had over the humans. It was different than just using his power, and he liked it.

"Y-you jerk!" Ryder's yell caught the Collector's attention. He looked up to see the thief clenching his hands into fists and scowling at him with pure hatred in his eyes. "Let me move! Let me move so I can kick your ass!"

"Ryder," Danny hissed warningly at the man, his expression pained as he did his best not to look at Melody. He hated to see her so upset, but he didn't want someone else to get punished. He couldn't take seeing that twice in one day.

The thief didn't even glance at Danny. His eyes were locked with the Collector's, and this only made the ghost's smirk widen. He loved this reaction. He didn't know why...he just loved it. All he could do was shake his head and laugh darkly, unable to respond at the moment. It was just too funny.

Vlad watched the scene unfold without a single expression other than a firm frown. Although he experienced the same kind of anger he was sure Danny and Ryder were feeling, there was still a part of the man that was able to rein in his emotions and analyze the situation despite all the troubles going on around him. It was almost natural for him to be interested in observation rather than action, and now all his scrutiny was coming up with a foreboding conclusion. Vlad knew the signs. He'd experienced them himself a couple of times. This change in the Collector was more than simply a frustrating twist in the puzzling game of escape. It was much more alarming than that.

_He likes his power_, Vlad thought as listened to the ghost laugh. _He's practically drunk on it. The more he uses it on us, the more he enjoys it. Our reactions are his biggest fuel. Without them, where would he be? How would he demonstrate his abilities? His biggest care isn't his museum anymore; it's his power._

After several long moments, the Collector finally managed to calm himself, though he couldn't stop smiling. He knew it was unsettling the humans by the looks on their faces, and perhaps that was why he was encouraged so deeply to continue doing it.

"_Mr. Walker_," the ghost said to the man, waving a hand towards the piles of mush on the floor. His grin widened to sickening degrees as he said, "_Do me a favor and just...go fall in that, please. I think you'll want to join your friends in getting cleaned up, correct_?"

Grimacing in vexation and fury, Ryder's legs moved against his will, leading him over to the mess the Collector had indicated. He glared at the ghost the entire time, practically seething with hatred. No one made Melody cry and got away with it. Ryder would make sure the Collector paid for it.

These thoughts of revenge were the only things that distracted him from the pain of his body landing hard against the floor as he flopped into the mush mess he had created. Ryder wanted to get up, but he was stuck sitting in the crap, his cheeks burning red with his anger.

"Atta boy," the Collector said to Ryder, his laughter only returning at the look on the man's face. He swept his eyes over to the two half-ghosts, placing a hand against his chest as he continued to laugh. "What a good sport...wouldn't you agree, Mr. Masters?"

Vlad was silent, momentarily searching for the right kind of response. He glanced over to Ryder lying in the mush on the floor, to Melody who had buried her head in her arms at the table, then finally down to Danny beside him. At that very moment, Vlad's life felt so surreal. He couldn't believe he was here, trapped against his own will, beyond powerless, and caring about the lives of these three strangers. It was all too odd, all to unbearably frightening.

Looking back up at the Collector, Vlad answered emotionlessly, "Sure."

The ghost chuckled softly, shaking a forefinger at Vlad. The halfa's response was a nice balance to the ones he had received so far. Turning his stare onto Danny, the Collector mockingly asked, "What about you, Mr. Fenton? What do you think of Miss Hart's hair?"

Danny stared solemnly back at the Collector. He wasn't even sure if he could speak at this point. He was so terrified and furious. He wanted to help his friends, but he knew he couldn't. And he couldn't believe how cruel the ghost was being. He'd never been this way before. Now...Danny wasn't sure if there was any going back.

Wetting his lips, the teen fearlessly met the Collector's eyes and growled, "Bite me."

The boy's answer forced another laugh out of the Collector, and he placed a hand against his chin to stop himself from getting out of hand. He still had to clean the group off, after all. Waving his hand in an almost excited fashion, the Collector said, "_You may move. I will return shortly. Don't stray very far now_."

As the Collector waltzed off towards the ghost's side of the room, Ryder pulled himself out of the mush, grimacing as he wiped the stuff from his eyes. He ignored the disgusting feeling coating him from head-to-toe and quickly went to Melody's side. He stood beside her, uncertain as to what he could do to make her feel better. He felt so useless.

Eventually, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and murmured, "I'm here, Mel. I'm right here...it's okay. It's alright."

While Ryder tried to console Melody, Danny stared at the ground, breathing hard. He couldn't believe this was happening. "This...this is like a nightmare," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief as he paced in a small circle. "I wish...I wish I could wake up, but I can't."

Vlad ran his hands through his hair, closing his eyes to focus his thoughts. He couldn't let the situation get too out of hand. There had to be something he could do to keep everyone together. With that thought in mind, Vlad strode back over to where Melody sat. He was going to try to do damage control as quickly as possible, and it would have to start with the girl.

"Melody-," Vlad began. He didn't get very far.

At hearing his voice, Melody raised her head and turned her tear-stained face up at Vlad. Pointing at him, she seethed savagely, "_You_! This is all your fault!" Vlad halted, too mortified to move or protest as Melody got up from her seat to closely confront him.

"You're the one who suggested it the other day," Melody spat viciously up at the man. She was almost hysterical as she said, "You asked me what I would do without my hair, and look how it played out? Two days later it's all gone! All gone! One little snip. Poof, gone!"

"Melody, I didn't-."

"No! Shut up! This is all your fault!" Melody screamed back. She lifted her fist to pound on Vlad's chest, but he easily caught her wrist and the other she quickly brought up too. Struggling in his firm grip, the girl shouted, close to a new wave of tears, "No! Let me go!"

Leaning down so that he was at her eye level, Vlad said with quiet earnest, "Melody, listen to me. I know you're upset, but understand that this situation is nobody's fault. If you want to blame me. Fine. I can take it. I don't care. Just know that...that I'm...I'm sorry. Alright? I'm sorry if I caused this to happen. And I know this is the worst time for me to tell you this, but you have got to pull yourself together. Get a grip, Melody. I know you. You're unbelievably strong. You're not going to let a haircut define who you are like most girls do. Now suck it up."

Tears streaming down her face, Melody had stopped struggling to listen to Vlad. When he was finished, the girl gave a sniff and a hiccup before nodding silently in understanding. Vlad finally let her wrists go and watched as the still shaking girl looked to the floor and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Danny silently glanced up from Vlad down to Melody, his expression hinting at shock that he was trying to hide. He didn't think he'd ever heard Vlad say that he was sorry and actually mean it before. And he could tell that the man meant it. The teen just knew Vlad was doing everything he could to keep Melody and their group strong and together.

That reaction meant more to Danny than any of the humans there could probably realize. It made the fear Danny was feeling lessen as strength and determination rose up inside of him. The teen reached out and put a hand on Vlad's arm. When the man glanced down, Danny nodded firmly at him, his eyes clearly saying, '_I've still got your back, Vlad. I'm not scared._'

Ryder hesitated as he looked at Melody for only a moment longer before he stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug. He didn't care if she tried to push him away. He knew she needed comfort and so that's what he was going to do. If he couldn't hurt the Collector like he so desperately wanted to, he'd do what he could to make his friend feel better.

Melody was stiff when Ryder first pulled her into a hug, but soon she loosened up and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Although she didn't hug him back, it was clear she somewhat appreciated his gesture.

As this was going on, Vlad glanced down to Danny and managed a small, weary smile. He was thankful the teen was pulling through. Looking back up at the rest of their small group, Vlad saw that everyone was fighting to make things work out somehow by using their own personal methods. And as long as everyone was pitching in and looking out for each other, they still had a chance of making it. The notion gave Vlad a bit of relief. He wouldn't be having to pick up all the slack.

Vlad let out a short, tense sigh, thinking as he glanced over in the direction where the Collector had walked off to,_ Now for round two._

As if answering his thoughts, the Collector came back into sight. However, he wasn't alone. This time he was being followed by a small, blue skinned ghost with all black eyes and webbed feet and hands. The closer the pair got, the tenser the group of humans became as they all wondered what was in store for them this time.

Ryder held Melody tighter as he shot a glare at the grinning Collector, but he remained silent. Everyone was quiet. No one knew what to expect from the two ghosts as they came to a stop in front of them.

The Collector smirked at the two thieves before letting his eyes drift to the halfas. They seemed to be in the best shape out of the four, and he could only hope that his next actions would rid them of that feeling.

"Well, I see that you all are utterly excited to get cleaned off, yes?" the Collector broke the silence by saying. He chuckled momentarily as he added, "So am I." Waving a hand to the side, he gestured at the ghost beside him. "This is Roy. He will be your...shower for today."

Looking highly uncomfortable, the ghost known as Roy shifted his feet and looked up at the Curator uncertainly. It was obvious that, not only did he not want to be there, he wasn't capable of leaving. Ignoring the look the ghost sent him, the Collector smiled at the humans and said, "Now then. _Let's all go stand by the wall over there. And line up for me, would you_? That would be wonderful."

Without a word, the group obeyed the ghost's orders and started to move towards the specified wall. Reluctantly, Vlad took the lead in the line of humans, Melody and Ryder both bringing up the rear. Soon the four were standing by the wall in the line that the Collector wanted, all wearing expressions of different degrees of worry. They weren't exactly sure what was in store for them, but they definitely knew it wouldn't be something comfortable.

Surveying the group like a king looking down on his subjects, the Collector crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "Now, who would like to go first?" he questioned, his tone hinting that he was doing his best to make the humans feel small and stupid. When no one volunteered themselves, the ghost's grin widened as he murmured, "Well. I suppose I'll just have to choose myself, won't I?"

His white eyes slid up and down the line of humans, finally coming to rest on the youngest of the group after a dramatic, nerve-wracking pause. "Mr. Fenton!" the Collector said in congratulatory tone. "Thank you for volunteering. _Step off to the side there, my boy_. Yes, that's perfect."

Once Danny had been forced to stand away from the others, the Collector looked down on Roy. Lowering his head, he whispered, "You know what to do, Roy. Don't be gentle now. They are very unclean, you understand."

Still appearing highly uncomfortable, Roy went to stand in front of Danny. He kept his distance as he raised a hand, palm facing straight at the teenager. Danny could only stare back at the ghost, fear obvious on his face. It was the fact that he couldn't move that scared him the most. He squeezed his hands into anxious fists, narrowing his eyes back at Roy as he fought to keep himself from freaking out. He didn't want to give the Collector the satisfaction of seeing him scared.

All of Danny's defiant thoughts came to a screeching halt, however, when Roy's dark eyes flashed blue. A massive blast of water leapt from his palm and slammed unmercifully into Danny's chest, throwing the teen completely off his feet. He crashed into the wall before falling to the ground, the extreme pressure of the water keeping him pinned there. He couldn't have stood up if he tried. It was as if a fire hose had been turned on him.

Struggling to breathe, Danny covered his head with his arms and curled into a ball, gritting his teeth tightly at the stabbing pain all over his body from the water. He didn't know how long the torture went on, but, eventually, the water stopped. Danny was left sprawled on the floor, coughing up water and gasping for air. He looked like nothing more than a frightened, half-drowned rat.

"There we go," the Collector chuckled over the boy's coughs. "Nice and clean." Turning his gaze onto the adults, the ghost politely asked, "Who would like to go next?"

The group was dead silent as they watched as Danny practically hacked up a gallon of water. The demonstration had only confirmed their fears: getting clean was going to be a painful experience.

"Me. I'll go," Melody suddenly said in a small yet determined voice. Her glare she pinned on the Collector was cold and deadly. The old Ice Queen was back.

Unmoved by her defiant glare, the Collector simply smirked, reaching out to turn Roy by the shoulder so that he was facing Melody. "I was so hoping you would go next, Miss Hart," he told the girl. Glancing down at Roy, the ghost said loudly enough for the group to hear, "This one is especially unclean, Roy. I suggest...upping the pressure."

Roy pressed his lips into a firm line, nodded unwillingly, and took aim at Melody. As the Collector had ordered, he raised his palm and blasted her with a strong jet of water.

Despite all the preparation she thought she had, getting blasted in the chest with what felt like a water hose with a vengeance was an experience the girl would never soon forget. Like Danny, she was thrown right off her and into the wall behind her. Water relentlessly washed over her, making it hard to catch any snippet of oxygen. Melody knew she probably swallowed more water than she did air as the water kept coming down on her like a powerful waterfall.

At last, the water stopped and Melody was allowed to slide down the wall and onto her butt. Leaning on one hand, the girl tilted to the side and threw up all the water trapped in her stomach before coughing on the sweet, stinging taste of air.

"Two...stupid years...of swim practice did not...prepare me...for that," the girl gasped out quietly.

Ryder looked down at Melody before slowly letting his gaze drift to his boots that she'd just thrown up on. If he could've moved, he would've been able to save his most favorite boots. But now it was too late for that. His face remained blank as he sourly muttered, "Thanks for that, Mel." Without expecting an answer from the girl, the thief turned his glare up to the Collector and growled, "I'll go. My boots are ruined now, anyway."

Roy gave the Collector a questioning gaze, asking for permission to continue. When he got a nod, the ghost aimed his palm at Ryder and quickly took him down with a crushing blast of water as well.

Once it was over, Ryder was sprawled on the ground, back pressed up against the wall, water running rivulets down his face and clothes as he hacked and coughed out, "Th-this was a-a good time to say _water_ surprise, wasn't it?"

Smirking without humor, the Collector turned his sights on the remaining human and said, "Roy, don't be afraid to up the pressure even further." He patted the ghost's shoulder, grinning vilely. "Mr. Masters can handle it."

Frowning deeply, Roy took aim at Vlad and fired at him with the strongest burst of water yet, throwing like the others into the wall behind.

The blast was so strong, Vlad was actually unable to breathe with it constantly hitting against his chest and stomach. It felt like an anvil had been dropped on top of him and was threatening to crush his ribcage. Fighting against the darkness floating around the corners of his brain tempting him to pass out, Vlad summoned enough energy to bring up his arms to momentarily take the pressure off his chest.

Even with the ability to breathe, Vlad found it hard to do so with so much water in the way. By the time the water stopped, the man was too weak to keep himself standing or sitting. He rolled onto his side and coughed up excess water, squeezing his eyes shut as his body shook uncontrollably. His lungs burned, chest ached, throat stung, and his muscles were sore. It had been a long time since he had felt this pathetic.

The Collector took a moment to step forward, lean down, and inspect each human individually. Due to their groans, gasps, and quiet complaints, he knew that they were overall okay. They were certainly roughed up and undoubtedly disgruntled, but they would be fine with rest.

Straightening up, the ghost adjusted his suit and dismissed the concerned looking Roy with a stern look and wave of his hand. As all other ghosts did for him, Roy left without arguing though it was clear that he certainly wanted to.

"Well then," the Collector drawled, hands sliding comfortably into his pants pockets. "I believe that is enough 'fun' for one day, wouldn't you agree?"

As he had suspected, no one even bothered to answer him. He wasn't even sure if they were capable of doing so. Smirking a little, the ghost continued, "I hope this has been a lesson to you all. If not, well, I can always think of something else. I have plenty of free time." Tilting his head as he released another soft round of chuckles, the Collector said, "Please enjoy the rest of your night. I will send in ghosts to clean up your mess shortly."

He half turned, but stopped to momentarily peer back at the humans. Raising an eyebrow, he asked hopefully, "Any parting words for your dear Curator?"

There wasn't a single response besides some pretty heated glares. Out of all of them, though, Vlad's was probably the strongest. In his current weak state, the man had been enlightened with a small, crazy idea. Desperately, he hung onto the idea and willed it to slowly grow and flourish.

_You're going to regret this day, Collector,_ Vlad silently vowed with his glare._ You're going to regret messing with me and every other human in here._

"Hmph," the Collector grunted, oblivious to Vlad's silent threat. He turned completely around, casually saying over his shoulder, "Good day, then."

Danny only dared to try and move once he was sure the Collector had left the room. Grimacing as he held his horribly sore stomach, the teen rolled onto his side on the wet floor so that he could look at everyone else. It was easy to see that they all looked completely terrible. At least he wasn't alone in that.

"Ryder, you okay?" Danny rasped to the thief who was slouched back against the wall, staring unseeingly straight ahead of him. In response to the boy, he nodded dazedly, unable to form words. Panting softly, Danny said, "Melody? Vlad? What about you guys?"

"Fine," Vlad gasped as he rolled painfully onto his back. "I'm fine." Sighing, he turned his head to the side to look at Danny. "And you?" he asked with a grimace.

"Could be better," Danny replied, voice hitching with pain. "I'm not...not complaining." He closed his eyes again, pressing his forehead against the soaking wet floor. He was in too much pain to even try and move out of the humongous puddle he was laying in. Knowing his luck, he'd probably catch a cold from this little experience.

Like Danny, Vlad wasn't even attempting to get up. Knowing that everyone was as good as they could be in their current situation, Vlad let himself feel a bit of relief as he closed his eyes and let himself think. Their recent confrontation with the Collector had opened up a whole new pathway for the man's thoughts to walk through. Since nobody seemed to be in a talkative mood with him, Vlad decided to traverse that mental pathway while he still had the chance and while it was fresh on his brain.

Nodding along with Ryder to answer Danny's previous question, Melody scooted up close to her friend to lean her head against his shoulder once more. Then she closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing, anything to get her mind off her hair and her horrible night.

"The food fight...was fun while it lasted," Melody said to Ryder in an attempt to cheer him up.

Grimacing, Ryder wrapped his arm around Melody's shoulders and rested his cheek against the top of her sopping head. "Yeah," he said breathlessly. The pain in his chest was almost unbearable. His ribs were still weak from Gregory punting him not too long ago. "Just...for a little bit. I...h-haven't had fun in so long."

"Yeah," Melody said with a painful sigh. "I haven't had much either. Next time, though, let's do something more orthodox...like basketball. Something...less messy."

Ryder let out a rasping chuckle as he nodded. "That sounds like a good idea," he agreed softly. The man shifted and cringed, deciding that moving wasn't a good idea. He went still, adding in a mutter, "As long as I don't get beat up again. That court might be cursed."

The thief looked down at his feet, and that was when a lightbulb seemed to go off over his head. "Oh, that reminds me...for some reason," he said, reaching slowly into his inner jacket pocket with his free hand. He winced a little and hissed in a soft breath as he pulled out a pair of gleaming scissors and held them in his palm.

"I...thought you might want these," Ryder said, offering them out to Melody. His face held lines of pain, but he looked quietly happy as he murmured, "The jerk didn't...he didn't cut your hair very well. I thought you could do better if you wanted."

Danny looked up, squinting before his eyes widened in surprise. "How the...how the heck did you get those?" he asked in total shock.

"Stole 'em when the Collector wasn't looking," Ryder answered, flashing a small grin.

"But he was watching us the whole time!" Danny argued, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Laughing painfully, Ryder replied, "No, he wasn't."

"Damn, Ryder. You do know your trade," Melody said with a quiet giggle. She liked seeing Danny so astonished over a pick-pocketing feat. Still, Melody had to admit the deed had been a risky yet skillful one. Even with her abilities, she wouldn't have attempted that one.

Looking down at the scissors before her, Melody's eyes teared up once more. She couldn't help it. She loved her hair, and now it was all gone. She felt like a part of herself had been ripped away. With a shuddering sigh, she took the scissors offered to her and shot Ryder a weak, thankful smile. Brushing tears out of her eyes with the back of her hands, she said with a sniff, "I appreciate it, Ryder. Thanks."

Ryder smiled back before giving her a comforting squeeze. "I owed you one, remember?" he told her confidently. The thief paused for a moment before adding in a more serious tone, "I'd steal anything for you, you know that. Being my best friend has its perks."

His grin dimmed a little, and he pulled her closer to wrap both arms around her as he quietly said, "And you're still pretty, Mel. Long hair, short hair, doesn't matter. Nothing's gonna change that."

Despite the awkward side hug, Melody wrapped her arms around one of Ryder's in a way of hugging him back while a sad smile wavered on her lips. She didn't know where she'd be without the man. Looking up at him, Melody's smile only grew before she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're the nicest thief ever, you know that?" she told him. "Again. Thanks. And not just for the scissors. For everything else as well."

Ryder laughed softly, more than happy to see Melody feeling better, even if it was only slightly. She was one of the first real friends he'd made in years, and he'd do anything to make her stay happy at all times.

"Stop making me blush," he chided the girl, slowly releasing her from his dual-armed hug. His smile returned as he said teasingly, "I've got a reputation to uphold as a heartless, fantastic thief, y'know? I don't need you ruining my image by spreading rumors around that I'm nice."

Sighing happily, Ryder leaned his head to the side and warningly told Vlad with a grin, "You didn't see any of this, okay? It never happened. Once we get outta here, tell everyone I'm the _meanest_ thief ever, alright?"

Realizing Ryder was talking to him, Vlad opened his eyes and paused his pondering as reality drifted back to him. Lifting himself onto his elbows with a wince, the man said with confusion, "Pardon? I wasn't listening."

Grinning, Melody said, "Exactly."

Frowning slightly, Vlad glanced over to Danny as if for an explanation.

Danny could only smile innocently back at Vlad and answer with, "I'm just as stumped as you are." Of course, he'd been listening to the thieves' conversation, but he wasn't gonna try and explain it to Vlad. It'd just been nice to see Melody and Ryder actually showing the bond they obviously shared. He wasn't even sure if he could explain it, anyway.

Vlad paused, frown still on his face until he seemed to come to a conclusion. Heaving a sigh, the man slowly got to his unsteady feet while saying, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not sitting in this puddle all night. I'm drying off and going to bed. It would be wise if all of you did the same."

Hesitating before he walked off to the cabin, Vlad spotted Danny still lying on the ground. Reluctantly, he asked, "Do you need help getting up?"

Danny glanced up at Vlad, frowning a bit at his tone. The man didn't sound like he wanted to ask if he actually needed help, but he'd done it anyway. That was definitely weird, but it was weird in a good way. It meant that Vlad wasn't just acting different under times of stress. He was acting different all around.

Though he was positive he could stand up on his own if he really put his mind to it, Danny figured it'd just be easier to accept help from Vlad when he offered it. And who knew? Maybe that would be encouraging for Vlad as well.

"Yeah," the teen said, pushing himself up off the floor with one hand. He immediately winced afterwards as the bruising along his front stung. "Jeez, who knew water could hurt so much?" Danny muttered, shaking his head with a grimace of pain.

Grabbing Danny's outstretched hand, Vlad yanked the boy to his feet, saying, "It could have been a lot worse. If under enough pressure, water can cut through steel, but I'm sure you don't want to hear about that. Hopefully, the pipes to our showers will be fixed soon. Then we won't have to worry about being hosed down like that again."

"Cut...cut through _steel_?" Danny squeaked out, his eyes going wide at the thought. Vlad was right. He did not want to think about that at all. Especially knowing that the chances were good that they might have to go through this process again. "Um, thanks, Vlad," the teen continued, swallowing down the lump of fear in his throat. Danny forced a smile to his face as he said, "I think you just gave me a nice nightmare to have tonight, but thanks for the lift."

Smiling smugly to himself, Vlad said, "Well, what can I say? Old habits die hard."

Danny just smirked back at the man and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, fruitloop."

A/N: Yeah...the Collector succeeds in being even more creepy than before in this chapter. Poor humans. They just can't get a break, can they? Anyways, I'll probably post again on Monday with another chapter, so I'll see you guys then!


	20. Chapter 20 A Leap of Faith

A/N: So I have a shorter chapter for today, but I rather enjoy this one. Good character development and whatnot. Anyways, I hope you readers enjoy it!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters, but we own everything else.

Previously In The Collector: Let's see...we met the apathetic Veronica who told the group that they have only scratched the surface to all the secretes that make up the museum and its Curator. Then there was an epic food fight, Melody got an unwanted haircut, and then they all got a painful shower. Lastly, let's not forget that the Collector is turning into a crazy person.

Chapter 20 A Leap of Faith

The second he woke up, Vlad knew his day was going to be horrible.

Uttering a moan of complaint, the man raised a weak hand and massaged the bridge of his clogged nose as he mentally prepared himself for the day. Thinking was sluggish and practically hopeless, though. With his head filled with so much pressure, it was useless to try motivating himself. The constant pain made the man wince. Vlad detested the thought of getting up out of bed.

A head cold was not something that was going to make sitting in a display case all day delightful, but Vlad had to face the facts. It wasn't like he could stay in bed and call in a sick day, and the thought of going to the infirmary with the Collector was something Vlad refused to ponder. That meant he'd have to get up and face the day. It was his sole option.

Groaning as he sat up and got out of bed, a quick flash of dizziness hit the man. He had to hang onto his bed to keep himself steady before slowly grabbing a fresh set of clothes, changing for the day, and lumbering out the cabin to eat breakfast with the others.

"And then, right when I was at my most desperate, right when the flames had surrounded me on all sides and breathing became near impossible 'cause of all the smoke, I- hey! Vlad's alive!" Ryder broke off in the middle of one of his more epic tales of adventure as he spun in his seat to give the man his good-morning grin. However, when he saw the state the half-ghost was in, he quickly frowned. "I may have spoken too soon..."

Danny wanted to growl at Ryder to continue with the story, but that demand died in his throat as he looked at Vlad as well. It only took one glance to know that the man wasn't gonna be in a good mood.

Tentatively raising a hand in greeting, Danny said, "Uh...morning, Vlad. You alright?"

"What kind of questions is that?" Melody asked. Indicating Vlad with a wave of her hand, she said, "He looks like crap. Of course he's not alright."

"Thank you, Melody, for kindly pointing that out," Vlad growled tersely as he sat next to Danny. Someone had thought ahead and gotten Vlad a tray of food, but the second Vlad saw it, his stomach churned. Grimacing, he pushed the tray away, rested his elbows on the the table, and put his head in his hands.

Vlad hated not being able to think straight, but the man forced himself to form sentences in his head before saying languidly, "I'm fine. It's just a head cold."

"That's just what the virus wants you to think," Ryder murmured, nodding gravelly. "You start out thinking it's just a head cold then next thing you know...BOOM! Pneumonia!"

Danny stared across the table at Ryder before slowly looking over to Vlad beside him. After a pause, the teen scooted to the far end of the bench. Giving Vlad an embarrassed grin, Danny said, "Better safe than sorry, right? You really do look gross...sorry."

Vlad gave Danny a reproachful glare before his expression softened. Sighing, he said in a muzzled voice, "I would be doing the same, I guess. I-." Vlad stopped short in surprise as he grabbed Melody's hand that had shot out toward his face just before she touched him.

"Miss Hart, what on earth are you doing?" he asked in a groggy drawl.

"I was going to feel your forehead to check for a fever because you're sweating like a pig right now," Melody answered as she pulled her hand out of his grasp.

"It doesn't matter," Vlad said curtly. "Fever or no fever, there is nothing I can do about it, so I'd appreciate it if you dropped the subject."

"Pfft, c'mon, Vlad," Ryder scoffed, dashing a hand through the air as he stood up. He began walking back towards the cabin, rambling over his shoulder, "It's like he doesn't even know us at all. Been hanging out for months now, and he thinks we're just gonna drop it. Sometimes, Vlad. Sometimes..."

"...Maybe you should go to the Infirmary," Danny suggested after rolling his eyes at the retreating Ryder. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked up at Vlad and inspected his flushed face with concern. "You really do look terrible, Vlad. And at least then you'd get to lay down. The doctor could even knock you out and everything."

If his brain hadn't been going at such a slow pace, Vlad would have realized that Danny remembered being knocked out by the ghost doctor's power and therefore had a good chunk of his memory back. Fortunately, he wasn't thinking clearly enough to put the pieces together as he adamantly shook his head.

"No," he said firmly. "The last thing I want today is to be on the Curator's radar. Especially after what happened last night."

"Oh, yeah...that's true, I guess," Danny agreed in a mumble as he lowered his eyes. He'd never had the chance to see Vlad with a cold before, and he was surprised that somehow the man managed to be even more stubborn than he was normally. It had to be some sort of genetic thing.

Before the teen could try and convince Vlad that it would be best for his health to go to the Infirmary, Ryder returned to the table. He announced his arrival by dumping a blanket onto the table top, followed swiftly by large hooded sweatshirt. The thief moved quickly, mostly so that Vlad couldn't get away, and shoved the woolen beanie in his hands down over the man's head.

Taking a step back to admire his work, Ryder pointed at the hoodie and sternly said, "You need to put that on, too. You gotta take this cold thing serious, Vlad. And, don't worry, the hat looks fine. It's stylish and efficient!"

"Oh, that's great, Mr. Walker. Because I was really worried about my fashion sense when my head feels like it's about to explode," Vlad snapped sarcastically under his breath as he tore off the beanie and threw it down with the rest of the stuff on the table. With a groan of frustration, the man buried his head in his arms on the table as if trying to escape the obnoxious group.

Melody grinned at Danny and Ryder as she slid closer toward the man and tapped his shoulder. When Vlad didn't respond, the girl said in a sweet, babying voice, "I know what Mr. Fruitloop wants. He wants some tissues, doesn't he?"

Without looking up, Vlad growled back, "I swear, if you call me that again, girl, I will murder you in your sleep."

This seemed to delight Melody as she giggled and drummed the table top. Patting Vlad on the top of his head, she got up from the table, saying, "I'll go get you those tissues anyways. Because I'm nice."

Ryder stared after Melody, shaking his head in amusement. "No idea how she got tissues," he chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. The man glanced down at Danny and grinned. "I think she's trying to one up my thieving skills. Too bad that's impossible. She gets points for effort, though."

"Oh, yeah, Ryder," Danny sarcastically agreed as he bobbed his head. "I'm sure that's _exactly_ what she's trying to do." Dropping his gaze back to Vlad, the teen let out a sigh and inched a little bit closer to him. It was so weird to see Vlad like this. The boy was almost positive that it was weird being in this position for Vlad too. He wasn't quite sure what to do so he just went with what his gut was telling him.

Danny lowered his head a little as he murmured, "Vlad...we're just trying to help." He hesitated for only a moment before adding softly, "Will you let us? Please?"

"It would help," Vlad mumbled back without lifting his head, "if everyone simply minded their own business. I don't need to be coddled like a child."

"Sure ya do!" Ryder butted in as Danny sat back with an annoyed frown on his face. The thief waved his hands dramatically as he explained, "That's what happens when you're sick, Vladster! Everyone's supposed to be extra nice to you, and you get people to bring ya the remote when you can't reach it. And then someone makes you soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. C'mon, being sick is pretty much awesome!"

"And besides," Danny cut Ryder off before he could continue. He crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest and leveled Vlad with a firm glare. "What else are we gonna do? You're basically the most interesting thing in our lives at the moment. So if you think we're just gonna let it go, then you must be _really_ out of it, Batman."

Vlad wanted to be angry at the two, but he soon realized he didn't have the strength nor the motivation to do so. He blamed it all on his illness. It was preventing him from coming up with any kind of decent argument. Nevertheless, there was still a stubborn part of Vlad that kept him from relenting.

"Tissues have arrived," Melody said in a sing-song voice, placing the box in front of Vlad.

As Vlad reached out to grab one, Melody swiftly slapped his hand. As Vlad shot her a dirty look, the girl said with a proud smirk, "Nope. Mr. Grumpy Pants doesn't get tissues until he puts on that hat Ryder gave him."

"You have got to be kidding me," Vlad sighed in despair.

"Hey, I risked my beautiful ass to steal these tissues," Melody told him. "I'm not giving them out to some ungrateful man until I know he's going to appreciate our effort. And it just so happens putting on that hat would be the best demonstration you could give us. Danny's right, Batman. You're going to have to give up sometime. Might as well be now than later."

Vlad stared solemnly at the table for a few seconds, torpidly mulling things over. At last, he made his decision with a sigh, listlessly grabbing the beanie and placing it on his head. Scowling at no one in particular, the man took a few tissues out of the box and blew his stuffy nose.

"Gawd, you really do look awful," Melody muttered with a cheerful smile.

"Nu-uh," Ryder disagreed, shaking his head. "His _face_ looks awful. But the rest of him, including my hat, might I add, is okay." Smiling happily at his cleverness, Ryder put a hand on his hip and pointed the other one at Vlad as he said, "And the jacket, too. That needs to be put on. And I don't want to hear any complaints. It took a lotta effort to steal that thing, y'know?"

The thief paused as if to reconsider his statement. He chuckled and shrugged. "Okay, I'm lying about that, but you still need to put it on."

Vlad gave Ryder a disparaging look as he blowed his nose once more. Once finished, he stated, "I'll take the blanket, but I refuse to wear that thing. There, a compromise. It's what I do best...I think." Putting his confused and cloudy head back in his hands in misery, the man gave a low moan before grumbling, "I don't know what I'm saying anymore. This must be how Ryder feels like all the time."

Danny smirked a little at that comment. Even when Vlad was sick, he still managed to be a jerk in his own way. The teen glanced up at Ryder, smirk growing when he saw the pretend offended expression on his face.

"I'll have you know I always know what I'm talking about," Ryder replied indignantly. "...Except for when I don't."

_Ding!_

Sighing heavily at the sound, Danny's smile disappeared as he stood up. "Back to the o'l grindstone," the teen sarcastically commented as he reached out to pick up the blanket and sweat shirt for Vlad. He knew the man hadn't said he was going to wear it, but he figured it'd be best to bring it along anyway.

Danny stuffed the items under his arm and held out a hand for Vlad to take. "C'mon, sicky," he said with a small chuckle. "You can complain all you want in the display case. I won't stop ya."

Vlad stared at the offered hand with a frown. He'd helped Danny get to his feet plenty of times, but being the one that was being helped was different. It meant admitting you actually needed assistance, and Vlad's pride didn't take too kindly to that sort of thing. For him, it looked terribly weak.

Nonetheless, even in his muddled-brain state, Vlad realized that his care for Danny and the others couldn't just be a one-way street. If they allowed Vlad to be nice them, then he would have to allow them to be nice to him in return. Expression softening, Vlad suddenly became aware of the fact that maybe letting someone help him, even if he didn't need it, wasn't a sign of weakness. Maybe it meant that he cared enough for that person that he was willing to let him or her return the gesture.

With a subdued sigh, Vlad gathered up the box of tissues and grabbed Danny's outstretched hand.

The boy had to lean all of his weight backwards to pull Vlad to his feet, but he somehow managed to do it without looking too pathetic. Once Danny was positive Vlad was upright and able to walk on his own, he let go of his hand and patted his arm.

"Don't worry, Vlad. I'll be extra quiet today," the teen promised as he slowly led the way towards their display case. "You won't even know I'm there." Danny waved his hands in front of his face and added with a grin, "It'll be the perfect napping zone. Just imagine it."

"Oh, I'm trying to imagine," Vlad grumbled, glancing down at Danny with an odd, sour look. "You're quite thrilled about this, aren't you?"

Danny's smile faded a little at Vlad's tone. He wasn't really sure what he'd done wrong. He thought Vlad would be happy about not having to talk to him today. His eyebrows furrowed as he quietly asked, "About the nap zone?"

"No. I didn't mean the ridiculous nap zone," Vlad said in frustration. "You've never seen me so indisposed like this. It must be giving you at least some amount of satisfaction. Don't deny it."

Danny didn't know what to say at first. He was actually really shocked that Vlad thought he was enjoying the fact that he wasn't feeling well. Why would Vlad ever think that he'd be getting a kick out of his pain? The boy looked down at the floor as they stepped into their display case, and the door shut behind them. He guessed he saw where Vlad was coming from, though, if he thought about it.

Two months ago, Danny probably would've been more than happy to witness a sick, defenseless Vlad. But now, he didn't find anything the least bit funny. It made him kinda upset that Vlad still thought he'd find this situation amusing.

"No, actually," the teen replied, frowning back up at Vlad. "I don't find this entertaining at all." The stubborn gleam in Danny's eyes disappeared as he looked away and went to dump the blanket in the corner so Vlad would have something to sit on. "Sorry to disappoint," Danny mumbled over his shoulder.

Danny's honest answer forced Vlad to realized he had falsely accused the teen and had made him upset. Rubbing his fuzzy head, the man wondered what was wrong with him. In the end, he blamed his problems on his sickness again, but he knew holding his illness responsible wasn't going to make things any better.

"Look, I'm not thinking straight," Vlad sighed as he leaned his back against the wall and slid down it until he was sitting on the blanket. Looking up at Danny, the man said with a sniff, "I didn't mean what I said."

"It's okay," Danny quietly answered without looking at Vlad. He dropped the large hoodie into the man's lap so that he could use it if he wanted to and turned away to go sit against the opposite wall. The teen pulled his knees up to his chest and propped his chin on top of them as he looked out of the glass window.

It were times like these that he had to stop and wonder how much of his feud with Vlad and been his fault. He knew that Vlad had instigated the entire thing, but he'd never even tried to end it. He was too stubborn to back down from a fight or to let Vlad get away with a mean comment. Looking at his life now, Danny could sort of see Vlad's side to things.

_It takes two people to fight_, Danny told himself with a thoughtful sigh. _If only I'd figured that one out earlier. That would've saved me some bruises_.

In his own corner, Vlad was just trying to get through the morning. That was easier said than done when he came down with a bad case of chills. Draping Ryder's hoodie over himself, the man wrapped his arms around his midsection and leaned his throbbing head against the wall with his eyes closed. Shivering uncontrollably, the man willed himself to sleep.

When Vlad eventually did fall asleep, dark, bitter memories of his past plagued his dreams. Endlessly they rolled on, one after another. All the emotions from the recollections were intermingled with the images, hitting Vlad just as potently as they originally had. Vlad had no power to control or stop them, leaving him completely vulnerable.

The longer Vlad slept, the more worried Danny became. He tried to ignore the man's tossing and turning at first, but when it continued, accompanied by shivers and furiously mumbled words, he knew something wasn't right.

For a while, the boy got up and paced back and forth in their small room, shooting anxious glances at Vlad about every step. He kept mentally debating himself on whether or not to call in the Collector like Vlad had done for him, but he knew that Vlad wouldn't appreciate it. Not to mention, Danny wouldn't be too thrilled to see the ghost again, either.

Not only did he have to keep an eye on Vlad, Danny had to make sure that the ghost guests were entertained as well. It seemed like there was more of them than usual today, and with Vlad down for the count, he had to keep them occupied or face the Collector's anger.

So, as he paced, the boy would randomly changed into and out of his ghost form. Sometimes he'd create a ball of ectoplasm and toss it back and forth in his hands. He ignored the _ooh's_ and _aah's_ of the crowd, his sole focus on Vlad's current condition. He just felt so frustratingly helpless.

After the second or third hour, Danny finally stopped pacing. He nervously chewed on his bottom lip before rolling his eyes at himself and walking over to Vlad. The man was still asleep, and Danny couldn't help but hope he stayed that way as he sat down beside him and leaned his shoulder against Vlad's. It was the only form of silent comfort he could think of at the moment. He wasn't sure if it would help stop whatever nightmares were plaguing Vlad's mind, but at least he was doing something.

For a few more minutes, Vlad's nightmares persisted, until finally his mind and body just couldn't take the pain and torment anymore. As if being shoved forcefully into consciousness, Vlad gasped as he awoke and leaned forward. Forehead laden with sweat from his fever's change from cold to hot flashes, Vlad panted softly as he looked around the room with mild relief until he noticed Danny wasn't there. A bit alarmed, the man quickly looked to his left and found with some surprise the teen sitting next to him.

"When did you move?" Vlad croaked out, wincing at the sound of his voice.

Danny leaned away from Vlad, still a little shocked at how violently the man had woken up. It didn't help that he looked worse now than he had before he'd gone to sleep. _Figures_, the teen thought with an internal annoyed sigh. _Right when I sit down, then he decides to wake up_.

Shaking the thoughts away, Danny focused back on Vlad as he hesitantly said, "Just a little bit ago. You looked like you were having bad dreams..." He shifted his feet and glanced down at them. "I was worried."

Vlad stared at Danny for a moment before realizing his was spacing out and probably making things awkward. Sighing, Vlad leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed, saying wearily, "I was." Glancing down at Danny from the corner of his eye, Vlad added with a hint of a teasing smile, "But it's not like you could have cured my nightmares by sitting next to me."

"Well..." Danny played with his hands, cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment. "That's what my mom used to do when I was younger. It, um, it always helped." He kept his gaze focused on his feet, cleared his throat uncomfortably, and forced himself to change the subject before he died of awkward.

"What were you dreaming about?" the teen asked. In hopes of lightening the mood, he jokingly asked, "The Packers losing the Super Bowl?"

Uttering a sharp, short laugh, Vlad shook his head as he blew his nose. "No, nothing that serious," he joked in a blearily voice. Wiping off his sweaty forehead, his expression became sober and thoughtful before he answered, "The dreams were just...memories."

"Oh," Danny murmured, his smile quickly disappearing. He dropped his stare back to his shoes, trying his best to still appear casual. That was really hard to do considering that Vlad had just told him his memories were nightmares to him. The most scary thing about that was the fact that Danny knew where the man was coming from. That was what the majority of his own nightmares consisted of, and it wasn't at all a pleasant experience.

"I know how that feels," Danny quietly agreed with Vlad.

"Yeah," Vlad said with another sigh. His tone suggested he wasn't all the way present in reality. "I suppose you do. It's invidious, to say the least." He paused before frowning in confusion, muttering to himself, "I hope I used that word right."

Blowing his nose once more, Vlad suddenly asked, "What was I saying? Oh, I can't focus with this cold. It's impossible."

Danny couldn't help but laugh at the look on Vlad's face. It reminded him way too much of Ryder when he'd been on the pain drugs. That was definitely cause for teasing, but the boy resisted the tempting desire.

"You used a word I've never heard before, then you said you hoped you used it right," Danny supplied for Vlad with a small grin. The teen suddenly paused as an idea came to mind. It was risky, but it'd be good conversation if nothing else. Not to mention, he was extremely curious about this subject.

Clearing his throat, Danny lightly added, "But before that you were telling me what you were planning to do back in the real world once we get out of here. You should continue what you were saying."

Vlad shot Danny a bewildered glance. He didn't remember mentioning anything along those lines. Then again, he didn't recall a lot of things since coming down with his cold. In the end, the man decided Danny was probably in a more coherent state than he was; therefore, the teen knew what he was talking about.

"Well," Vlad started, staring unseeingly out the glass wall at the guests, "the first thing I'll do is probably take a vacation. The thought of working as a mayor the day I escape is not a very invigorating one. For clarification, I enjoy the job, but it's not something I'm particularly missing at the moment." Pausing, a pensive frown came upon the man's face before he said, as if uncertain, "Maybe I'll go visit my uncle."

Suddenly, as if snapping out a trance, Vlad shook his fuzzy head and asked Danny while blowing his nose once again, "What about you?"

"Oh, I'll have to go back to school," Danny replied, doing his best to hide the excitement from his voice. He'd totally just tricked Vlad, and he had no clue that it happened! The teen composed himself, his good mood dimming slightly as he thought about his future plans. "My summer's pretty much over now. I got like half a month left."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "Man, what a waste of a summer," he grumbled, frowning momentarily as he thought of how unfair his situation was. Instead of musing on it and getting more grumpy, Danny glanced up at Vlad and said curiously, "I didn't know you had an uncle. What's he like?"

"Mmm? Oh, my uncle," Vlad said, zoning back in on the conversation. He paused for sluggish thought before answering, "He's an adventurous sort. Loves to travel. When I was younger, he took me a few times with him to different countries. He's also one of the best chess players I know. He taught me the game when I was five." At the happy thought, Vlad gave a vague smile.

Then, the smile faded as the man became more serious. "My uncle was the only one who visited me regularly while I was in the hospital," Vlad said, a little absentmindedly. "Everyone else behaved like they were scared of me, as if I was a walking virus that would one day kill them. Not my uncle, though. Whenever he was in the States, he'd visit me and act as if nothing drastic happened. He was always a breath of fresh air."

Danny nodded in understanding, smiling a little at the description of Vlad's uncle. "He sounds like a cool guy," the teen said, slouching back against the wall like Vlad was doing. He crossed his hands over his stomach and stretched his legs out as he released a long yawn. He'd gotten used to getting up so earlier for their displays, but he was still a teenager. He'd kill for a nap right about now.

After a thoughtful pause, Danny peeked up at Vlad and quietly asked, "Did my parents ever visit you in the hospital?"

Vlad was quiet for a long time. Just before it seemed like he wasn't going to answer, he said quietly, eyes downcast, "They visited me once." Giving a shiver as his chills returned, he added with a sigh, "Just once."

Danny dropped his eyes before looking across the room at the far wall. It didn't take long for him to come to a conclusion on how well that meeting had gone. Interlacing his fingers across his stomach, Danny glanced up at Vlad again and murmured, "It wasn't a good visit...was it?"

Releasing another long sigh, Vlad explained emotionlessly, "They came and told me they were getting married, that I was invited to their wedding. Your dad even wanted me to be his best man. I...I didn't understand. I was too upset to make sense of it, but I wished them luck anyways." Shivering again, Vlad curled himself up into a tighter ball as if in a feeble attempt to get warmer. Staring at his lap, he grumbled, "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"Because you want to," Danny answered solemnly. "You wouldn't have told me if you didn't want to." He paused before adding with a small smirk, "You're kinda stubborn like that."

Hastily dropping his eyes, Danny fiddled with his hands for a moment as he tried to think of something to say. Even though he was trying to hide it, he was just as surprised as Vlad was that the man had actually told him that. Like many other things, his parents had never mentioned that visit to him before. He could only imagine how Vlad must've felt being stuck in that hospital all alone with no friends or family to fall back on.

It was a horrible thought. Danny couldn't even begin to imagine how terrible it would've been if the same thing had happened to him.

Swallowing a little, Danny quietly said, "I still appreciate it, though."

Sniffing fruitlessly, Vlad said fuzzily with a nod, "Yeah, I can be as stubborn as my own father sometimes." Chuckling bleakly, the man admitted, "Unfortunately, that's not the only thing I learned from him. If you want to know where my manipulation comes from, oh, he's definitely the source."

Vlad paused for thought before looking back down at Danny, one eyebrow raised. "You know," he stated, "a few months ago you would have never listened to me like you are now. You never cared about my life. What changed?"

Danny wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. He hadn't really thought about it before. In fact, he'd hardly noticed it until Vlad just pointed it out. But now that he thought of it, there was definitely a big change. Apparently, Vlad hadn't been the only one who'd undergone a change of heart these past few months.

Frowning slightly, Danny slowly said, "I guess...I did. I always thought that you hated me, but I never knew why. I know some of it was 'cause of...of all the stuff that happened when we first met, but I never got why you hated my guts so much. I guess I just wanted to think it was because you were the bad guy, and I was the good guy and that was all that it took. I...didn't want to see your side of things 'cause the whole situation seemed so unfair."

Danny stopped to collect his thoughts before forging on again, eyebrows remaining furrowed, "Then we got stuck in here. And even at the beginning, before we made that truce, I could tell you were at least _trying_ to tolerate me. And I figured if you could give me a chance...well, it'd be dumb of me not to do the same."

After a pause, Danny met Vlad's eyes and shook his head, saying truthfully, "You're not a bad guy, Vlad."

Eyebrows drawn together and forehead creased, Vlad stared at Danny pensively as he reflected on what he'd just said. For many years, Vlad knew he had been the bad guy. Although he loved lying to others, Vlad never liked to lie to himself. He knew very well that he had lied, cheated, manipulated, blackmailed, and hurt a lot of innocent people to get exactly what he wanted in life to claw his way to the top. Those were never good qualities in a person, yet Vlad took pride in how well he had done them. Vlad knew he was evil, and he was never afraid to admit that.

But Danny had just told him he wasn't a bad guy. It didn't make any sense.

Looking away from the teen, Vlad stared ahead again, trying to break through the mire the cold had created in his head so he could think properly. Giving up on the impossible task, Vlad blew his nose and surrendered to his second option: asking Danny.

"Why?" he asked without looking at the teen. "Why do you think that?"

"Because it's true," Danny answered instantly, his expression firm. He really did believe what he'd said. Before all of this, he never would've thought he'd ever willingly tell Vlad that he wasn't a bad guy, but here he was. The teen had to defend what he believed in.

"Sure, you've made bad choices in the past," Danny admitted, tilting his head to the side to concede that fact. "But it isn't because you're a bad guy. Everyone makes bad choices. You just...you haven't gotten a chance to see that and change it if you want to. I..." Danny looked away for a moment as he murmured, "I got that chance before."

The boy shook the thought away as he continued solemnly, "I know you're not a bad guy because I can see it. When you helped Ryder with his problem with ghosts. You didn't have to, but you did. And when you play chess with Melody and let her win. She totally rubs it in your face, but you let her do it. And...and when you're nice to me even though you don't really like me that much." Danny shook his head at Vlad and said, "A bad guy wouldn't do any of those things."

"Just because I behave like a nice person doesn't necessarily make me a good person," Vlad muttered halfheartedly. "I told you that the first day we were captured. I can be nice. Not good, but nice. Even if my intentions are good right now, that doesn't mean my intentions in the future will remain that way."

Danny tried to hide his disappointment at Vlad's response. He wouldn't admit it, but it even made him a little afraid. He didn't think that things could ever go back to the way they were before the museum. After all they'd been through, Danny knew that he could never see Vlad as the villain again. He wasn't even sure if the man wanted to be the villain. Maybe he just thought he had no other choice.

"Well..." Danny began, sounding unwilling but solemn. "...if you think things can go back to the way they were before...you're wrong. You're not my enemy, Vlad, and I'm not gonna fight you anymore. If you want to fight in the future...don't expect me to fight back. I won't."

Grimacing from another wave of shivers, Vlad said quietly, "I...I don't want to fight you too, but..."

Frustrated with his lack of polished words coming to mind to describe what he was feeling, Vlad released an irritated sigh before saying with a shake of his head, "But it's not as easy or as simple as not fighting you! You know all the terrible things I've done just to gain power. You know I don't regret half the deeds I've done to get what I wanted."

The man let out a mirthless laugh as he said, "Let's face it. Back in the real world, I'm just as bad as the Curator is right now. Just like him, I want power, recognition, and money. I want status and...and..." Vlad faded off when he realized how hollow his words were. There was no passion behind them. He didn't want those things anymore. For so many years those things were the priority of his life. Without them, Vlad felt as empty as his words.

With a small pang of fear, Vlad realized he didn't know what he wanted anymore. There was no direction. Nothing was there to steer his boat as he drifted down the river of life. He was lost.

Danny could sense Vlad's uncertainty through his tone. He looked up at the man, silently trying to figure out what was bothering him. There was obviously something wrong, but he couldn't figure out the source of it all. Vlad said he didn't want to fight anymore, so that had to mean his wants out of life had changed. Danny had to believe that the man wanted to change for the better. Vlad just needed help.

"I think you just want people to care about you," the teen murmured, "but you're scared of getting rejected again. Like...like your parents did to you. I don't blame you." Shaking his head slowly, Danny muttered at the floor, "I never want to meet them."

Danny forced his gaze back up to Vlad and said firmly, "I know you're different, Vlad. You just gotta know that too. You gotta know it's okay. Everyone deserves a second chance if they want to take it. And...I forgive you for what you've done to me. I really do. You're my friend now, Vlad. Even...even if you don't think so, that's what I think. I said I got your back, and I meant it. I can help you if you'll let me. That's what...friends do."

"Yes, then they go and marry the woman you love behind your back. Your father said those exact, same words to me in college, and now look what happened," Vlad snapped back, glaring bitterly at the far wall. "Do you know how hard that is, Daniel? Do you know how hard it is to just sit there powerlessly as your former best friend back stabs you? For you, it would be like that Folly kid marrying Samantha behind your back. It is not something you forget and forgive so easily."

Pressing his lips together, the man held back for a moment before muttering, "And even your mother, the nicest person I've ever met, even she rejected me at some point." And for the first time, Vlad saw how his efforts to gain Maddie back had been a rather extravagant waste. There was too much bitterness behind that relationship for it to ever work out. Even if he did win her over, the wound wouldn't be healed. He wouldn't feel satisfied. Chasing her had been like chasing the wind, which only made Vlad feel foolish and weak.

Shivering some more, Vlad closed his eyes as he asked quietly, "What makes you believe I can trust you?"

Danny flinched and lowered his eyes at the bitterness in Vlad's tone. He thought he was helping, but maybe he was just making Vlad feel worse. The teen stared down at his shoes again, trying to think of what he could possibly say. He just didn't know. It didn't help that he was silently trying to figure out why Vlad had mentioned Tucker marrying Sam like that was supposed to upset him or something.

_Does he think I like Sam or something_? Danny wondered, eyebrows furrowing at the thought. He frowned a little. _Do I? Ok, no, I don't have time for this._

Forcing the thoughts on his love life away for now, Danny focused back on Vlad. He was quiet for a moment longer before he took in a silent breath, steadied himself, and said softly, "Because...you know me. You probably know me better than a lot of people. Probably even...no, who am I kidding? You _do_ know me better than my parents do.

"You know I'm not a liar. And you know how stubborn I can be. If I say I want to help, you _know_ I'm not lying. Admit it, Vlad." Expression softening, Danny added with less bite in his voice, "I don't want to hurt your feelings. I wish I could go back in time and be there for you when you needed someone, but I can't. It...it doesn't work like that. But I want to help now, and you can either let me or not. That's not my decision. It's just yours."

Vlad glared down at his lap, slowly and methodologically thinking Danny's words through while constantly fighting the dizziness in his head. He hated the fact that Danny was right. There was more truth to his words than Vlad wanted to admit. And as he thought it through, Vlad realized that his stay at the museum had broken his beliefs in the world and in himself down to a point of utter confusion and hopelessness. Danny, on the other hand, only had his beliefs strengthened. It was a stark contrast between the reliability of Vlad's and Danny's beliefs.

If Vlad was searching for strength and truth, he'd be a fool to stick with his old ways. They weren't serving him any good. If anything, they were making things worse. Vlad was tired of feeling so conflicted with himself, his past, and his beliefs. He hated doubt, and his method wasn't solving anything.

So maybe it really was a time for change. Yet something held Vlad back. Pinpointing it, Vlad discovered it was fear. He was afraid of rejection, vulnerability, and hurt. He couldn't deal with that again. He just couldn't. He already felt seconds away from shattering; another crack would surely break him.

_Stop. Just stop it!_ Vlad firmly shouted inside his head. _Since when did you let a little fear stop you from achieving anything, Mr. Masters? If you don't change, you will eventually break anyways. You're pathetic. You've lost so much. You have hardly anything left. Face it. What much is there to lose?_

Fighting through his bouts of shivers, Vlad looked down at Danny, connecting his gaze with the boy's. The man hesitated. So much of his stubborn nature and fear held him back, yet determination for truth and somehow a better life steadily pushed him forward. Finally, with a definitive sigh, the man told Danny, "Don't give up on me."

Stunned into silence for a moment, Danny could only stare back up at Vlad, his eyes wide. Sure, he'd been trying his hardest to get the man to listen to him, but it was still shocking that he actually had. That was just so...encouraging. Danny couldn't even begin to describe it.

After a short pause, Danny let a small smile come to his face as he said unwaveringly, "I won't, Vlad. I promise."

A/N: Aw! Such a good scene between the two! I always enjoy reading it. Anyways, I'll be back next weekend with another update! It will be a pretty awesome chapter! So I'll see you readers then.


	21. Chapter 21 Vlad's Punishment

A/N: Another awesome chapter is in store for you guys! This one is one of ML's and mine favorites. Things get pretty personal. Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters.

Previously In The Collector: Vlad got sick for the day, making him more crabby than usual. Despite that, him and Danny had a good, personal talk inside the display case that day. In the end, Vlad decided that he wanted to change and Danny decided to help the man do just that.

Chapter 21 Vlad's Punishment

"Hey, Vlad?"

Danny leaned over the napping Vlad's head as he waved a hand in front of the man's face. It was later in the day, probably 5 or 6 at night, and Vlad had announced that he was going to take a nap about an hour ago. Though Danny would've loved to leave the man to it, he'd had a revelation that he really needed to share at that exact moment.

"Vlad? C'mon, Vlad, wake up," the teen persisted, reaching down to shake the man's shoulder lightly.

Shifting a little as he silently woke up, Vlad opened his eyes and squinted at Danny in confused irritation. "Mmm. What is it?" Vlad asked groggily. "This better be important," he mumbled while sleepily rubbing his face.

"Oh, it is!" Danny assured the man as a grin came to his face. "It definitely is." Taking a step back so that Vlad had some room, the teen held his hands up as he explained excitedly, "So I just thought of this like ten minutes ago. You remember when we were talking to Veronica the other day, and you asked her how the Collector gained all his power?"

Danny paused for a moment, but then swiftly continued before Vlad could answer, "Well, that got me thinking. What if the Collector got his power enhanced through some sort of ghost artifact thing? Like the Ghost King's crown did for him? That could be how he can control us when we're humans! And that's why he just decided to bring humans to his museum. Because he couldn't control us before!"

The boy stopped again, lowering his hands as he looked back down at Vlad for the first time since he started talking. Looking a little self-conscious, Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he asked, "Um...what do you think?"

Expression engrossed in thought, Vlad slowly sat up, careful not to hit his head on the top bunk. After a long moment of silence, Vlad looked over to Danny with a small smile. "You know," he said with a slow, decisive nod. "That's plausible. If you've thought this far ahead, I assume you have a plan in mind too. Come on, then. Keep going."

Encouraged by Vlad's words, Danny's smile returned, and he nodded. "When we escaped by getting shrunk, I actually got caught in the Collector's office thing." He rolled his eyes and muttered before Vlad could say a word, "I know. My luck is terrible. Anyway, there was so much stuff in there! I remember seeing all this ghost crap just floating around. If we can get back in there when the Collector's gone, we can look around and maybe find whatever's giving him his power."

Grinning wide, Danny finished, "And then we can take it away for good."

"You've been to his office?" Vlad said critically, "And you somehow failed to mention this to us this entire time?" Vlad gave a sigh, shook his head, and said, "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you know where it is, and I might actually know what it will look like."

Getting out out of bed, Vlad rushed toward the door of the cabin, saying over his shoulder, "Come on. We have to tell the others and come up with a plan. I'm thinking of something along the lines of a distraction this time."

Danny quickly followed after Vlad, grumbling under his breath, "It's not like you ever _asked_ if I went to his office." The teen decided not to dwell on that fact because Vlad agreed with him. So maybe that meant his idea wasn't completely loopy. That was very encouraging, to say the least.

As the two half-ghosts exited the cabin, they spotted Melody and Ryder, of course, in the picnic area. Overtime, it had just become their unspoken hanging out spot. Danny raised an eyebrow when he spotted Ryder doing a handstand in front of Melody while the girl watched without much interest.

"See, Mel? Told ya I could do it for more than three minutes!" Danny heard Ryder grunt out the closer they got to them. The thief's cheeks were red from the strain of holding himself upright, but he didn't look unsteady. Ryder's eyes drifted away from Melody as he looked at the quickly approaching upside-down Vlad and Danny. "Hey, guys! What's _up_? Heh-heh, get it? 'Cause you're upside-down right now!"

Vlad's smile faded into an expression of bafflement, which he always seemed to wear around Ryder. Shooting Melody a reproachful look, he asked her, "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Melody lied with a sweet smile. "I just told him he couldn't stand on his hands for more than three minutes, so he proved me wrong. No big deal. I wanted to see if he could do it."

"You need to find yourself a new hobby," Vlad told her, his smile returning. Looking back at Ryder, the man ordered, "You can stop that now, Mr. Walker. Danny and I have a new plan to discuss, and your absurd actions are rather distracting."

For a moment, Ryder looked like he was going to comply, but he stopped and asked suspiciously, "Do you just want me to stop because you're jealous that you can't do it?"

Danny couldn't help but laugh at the seriousness of Ryder's tone, but he quickly covered his mouth and pretended to be coughing when Vlad shot him a look. "Just clearin' my throat," the boy defended himself with a smile. He leaned to the side and told Ryder, "Oh, yeah. He's definitely jealous, but we can rub it in later. Right now, we totally have a plan."

"Ooh," Ryder said with a grin. "I do like plans." The thief let his arms fold beneath him as he ducked his head and rolled forward. His momentum carried him back to his feet, and he threw his hands in the air as if he was a gymnast that had just stuck a perfect landing. "Yes," Ryder murmured, his eyes closed. "I am amazing. You have permission to bask in my glory."

There was a small pause as everyone just stared at Ryder with a mix of different expressions.

"Anyways," Vlad said, trying to get everyone back on track, "here's the thing. One of the ways we can get out of here is by taking the Curator's power away. I've always thought this task was too ambiguous to achieve, but Danny suggested that perhaps his power comes from a supernatural artifact. It's happened before to many other ghosts, so it's plausible the Curator has one now. Furthermore, Danny knows where the ghost's office is, which would be the most logical of places to find such an object. So, I propose Melody and Ryder create a distraction that will draw out the Curator from his office and secure some time for Danny and I to search his room. What we need now are ideas for a distraction."

"Ooh! Ooh! I gotta idea!" Ryder instantly said, waving his hand through the air as if he was an eager student trying to get the attention of his teacher. When this only got him more weird stares, the thief lowered his hand, grinned, and gestured over to Melody as he said, "We can pretend Melody's pregnant! That'd get the Collector's attention!"

"Oh my gawd!" Melody yelled in shock and anger. "Why would you even say that?" Then, with a little grunt of frustration, the girl punched Ryder hard in the arm. "You're retarded!"

"As...idiosyncratic as that sounds," Vlad said with uncertainty, "I think we'll go with something different. Any more suggestions?" He paused for adding, "Ones that don't include pregnancy?"

Ryder rubbed his sore arm, shooting Melody and the rest of the group a confused look. "It was just a suggestion!" he whined, wincing as he continued to hold his wounded arm. His eyes landed on Melody last, and he pouted at her. "Ow, Mel, that really hurt."

Struggling to keep himself from outright laughing, Danny chuckled out, "You kinda deserved it, Ryder."

"Why?" Ryder blurted, looking over at Danny for an explanation. "I was going for shock value!" Spinning back to face Melody, the thief pointed at her with his uninjured arm. "If you're so smart, you think of something, Miss Violent-Reaction!"

"Fine, then," Melody grumbled. She looked up to Vlad as she said calmly, "We could make a bomb."

"A bomb?" Vlad asked.

"Yes, a bomb," she answered with a snarky grin. "You know? Those things that explode and go boom?"

"Don't patronize, Miss Hart," Vlad chided her with a flabbergasted grin. "It's unflattering. Now, what's this about a bomb? I'm sure you have the materials, but do you really know how to make one without hurting more people than desired?"

"Uh...sure," Melody said with a shrug. "I've never made one myself, but I theoretically know how to. I mean, how hard could it be?"

"Ooh, I like that," Ryder instantly agreed, his anger at the girl disappearing as his eyes danced with mischievous glee. "I've made bombs before. It's really easy!"

Once more, Ryder got another round of silent, confused looks. He tried not to let it bother him as he shrugged his hunched shoulders and said, "I'm a thief. I gotta distract the guards from their jobs somehow. And...I like blowing things up. So sue me."

Holding up a hand, Danny said, "So you're saying you can actually make one? Just for clarification here."

"Of course I can," Ryder affirmed, placing his hands on his hips as he nodded. He tilted his head over to Melody as he added, "And with Big Brain over here, it'll be extra easy. Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Batman and Robin." He snapped his fingers at the two halfas, confidently saying, "We gotcha covered. Right, Mel?"

"Yeah," Melody agreed. With the wave of her hand, she said, "If we work together, creating the bomb should be easy. Now the question is how you guys are going to get out."

"That will be easy," Vlad said with confidence. "We'll get Charles to shrink us again. It worked well last time. I don't see how it won't work again."

Laughing in excitement, Ryder clapped his hands before high-fiving Danny. "Oh, man, this is gonna rock," he practically yelled. "I haven't made a bomb in so long! Ha! Classic!"

Danny couldn't help but smile at Ryder's excitement. He was starting to feel pumped up too. Not only had he come up with a plan, but it was a plan that could realistically solve all of their problems if it went right. The teen glanced up at Vlad and grinned at him. He was fully prepared to do whatever it took to make this plan go well, and he knew Vlad would too.

"Well, let's do this thing!" Danny said, his enthusiasm coming out in his voice. He was more than ready to get the heck out of this museum.

-An Hour Later-

Danny and Vlad ran as quickly as they could beneath the door of their room, both of them once again the size of tiny ants. They knew they needed to move fast because they didn't know when Chuck's power would wear off and return them to normal size. Once that happened, they'd have to be extra careful to make sure they didn't get caught.

As the pair passed beneath the door and moved out into the hallway, Danny looked up at Vlad and asked, "When do you think Melody and Ryder are gonna set off the-"

_BUH-BOOM!_

"-bomb," Danny finished in a squeak as the floor rolled beneath him. He nearly fell, but somehow managed to keep his balance. He and Vlad kept running even as the floor's shaking stopped. Laughing, Danny yelled, "Whoa! That was awesome!"

Vlad grinned, shaking his head at Danny's reaction to the bomb as they both kept running. They traveled under the darkness of the door, coming out to the other side just in time to see a group of ghost guards converge at the main doors, wide-eyed and weary of what happened inside the room. The humans' odd behavior had only escalated since their initial capture, and day in and day out of surprises had only exasperated the security force. They hadn't signed up for any of this.

"You," the ghost guard in charge spoke up while pointing to another officer just as Danny and Vlad emerged from the door in their tiny, unseen forms, "go get the Curator. He's going to want to know about this."

The ghost guard nodded in understanding, but he didn't look too happy about his charge as he quickly floated off. As he did so, the others went inside the room to inspect the damage to the most recent act of retaliation the humans had committed. Vlad smirked as they passed him and Danny without notice. So far, so good.

"Let's head the way that other ghost went," Vlad told Danny.

The teen nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan."

Following after the ghost was pretty hard to do considering their small size, but that problem was quickly solved when both Danny and Vlad grew back to their normal sizes mid-stride. Although the transformation made them woozy, they kept their pace and stayed close but far enough away from the ghost to avoid detection.

Danny nudged Vlad in the side and whispered, "Let's go invisible just in case." Just as the half-ghosts both disappeared from sight, they rounded a corner and passed by the wall of Loony Tunes plates that had a bored looking guard stationed in front of it. The ghost didn't even turn his head as they ran by, and Danny released a quiet sigh of relief and shook his head resentfully. "I hate those stupid plates," he muttered to Vlad.

"They always seem to bring your demise," Vlad teased. "And I see the Curator took my advice with the guard, though it really makes no difference in the end." As they continued to shadow the guard, Vlad muttered worriedly, "I sure hope this plan works. The repercussions to getting caught this time are pretty dangerous."

Danny grimaced as he murmured, "Don't remind me. I really don't want to think about it." He released a tense breath to rid his body of the nervous jitters Vlad's warning had given him and clenched his hands into fists. "Let's just...try to stay positive. We already got past those plates. That's gotta mean something, right?"

The boy's anxious grin disappeared, and he pushed Vlad back against the wall when they heard an angry voice growl, "By the spirits!" Peering around the wall they were hiding behind, Danny saw that the ghost guard had come to a stop outside of the Collector's office and, boy, did the ghost look peeved.

The ghost guard didn't look so happy, either, as he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yes, sir. I'm sorry, but it's true. You should come immediately to inspect the damage the humans have caused."

Gritting his teeth noticeably, the Collector nodded tersely and strode past the guard who floated hastily behind him. "Ungrateful...retched-I just fixed the water for them and _this_ is how they repay my goodwill," the Curator spat under his breath as he stomped past Vlad and Danny's hiding spot without stopping.

"Y-yes, sir," the ghost guard dutifully agreed. "Very disrespectful."

Their voices slowly faded off the farther away they got, and Danny let out another tense sigh. "I'm gonna have a heart attack at the rate we're going today," he grumbled before he grabbed Vlad's arm and pulled the man into the Collector's study. Danny shut the door silently behind them and returned to visibility as they looked around.

The room was still the same. Same odd, orangey lighting, same stacks upon stacks of books, and the same floating ghostly objects. Danny glanced up at Vlad and raised an eyebrow as he said, "So do you know what exactly we should be looking for? Or are we just guessing?"

Taking the room in with complete awe, the man couldn't respond at first. The office was filled with so many odd, random nicknacks that it was hard to make heads or tails of anything. At last, Vlad said disconcertedly, "You failed to mention the enormity of this room. This...this is going to take some time."

Sighing decisively, the man pushed up his sleeves as he looked down at Danny and ordered, "Let's work quickly and efficiently. Ignore the books. There are too many to go through. The kind of object we're looking for will most likely be small and old. No matter how common place it might look, it can still contain supernatural properties. Touch everything you see. Sometimes you won't be able to see the aura it actually holds, but physical contact can open that channel up. If you're unsure about something, just ask me."

Walking off to the Curator's desk, Vlad pointed to a section beside Danny while saying, "Start right there. I'll begin over here. If you hear anything from outside, turn invisible."

"Right," Danny said, turning quickly to do as Vlad had ordered. Who knew how much time they had left? The teen's eyes were drawn to a glowing box of cigars that floated past his head, and he reached out to snag it out of the air. The moment his hand made contact with the box, he felt an intense heat begin to burn through his body.

Gritting his teeth, Danny held onto the cigar box for a moment longer before his right hand actually burst into flame. Releasing a frightened yelp, the boy tossed the box away from him and waved his flaming hand rapidly through the air. There wasn't any pain and the instant he let go of the box, the fire died away as if it had never been there in the first place. Holding his hand by the wrist, Danny stared down at his palm, completely astonished to see that there wasn't even a mark from the fire.

"Whoo...okay, so one down," Danny whispered shakily, raising his head to glance around at the hundreds of objects around him. "...A lot more to go."

Vlad looked up from the desk he was rummaging through when he heard Danny's shout of alarm. Once he deemed the teen was alright and merely got caught off guard by some unruly object, the man went back to work. As he opened the drawers from the bottom up, he passed by an eclectic taste of old telephones, Victoria era broaches, a jeweled-handled dagger, a cheap hairdryer, an old TV remote with only two buttons, a box of moldy crayons, and a glass bottle filled with black sand.

One whole drawer was filled top to bottom with broken pocket watches. They sat there, silent and morose about their lack of usefulness. Sticking his hand in the collection, Vlad ruffled around for anything that could be hiding in the bulk of clocks. Finding nothing, Vlad let out a frustrated sigh and moved on to the last drawer.

Opening it, Vlad discovered only one object in the drawer. Staring back at him with a painted, serene smile was an old porcelain doll. There was something incredibly unsettling about the lifeless little girl. Despite this, Vlad touched the hem of the doll's dress to see if it was the object they were looking for. Nothing happened...to some of Vlad's relief.

"Creepy," Vlad muttered down at the doll before quickly closing the drawer and moving on.

At the other end of the room, Danny was quickly losing his patience with the annoying amount of useless crap the Collector had accumulated in his office. There were literally trunk-fulls of junk. One trunk he'd opened contained nothing but throw pillows while another was a massive collection of silverware.

Sighing heavily, Danny squeezed his way between two ghostly statues and came to a stop in the open area behind them. His gaze was instantly drawn to the whitish glass ball sitting by its lonesome on a pedestal. It mostly caught his attention because it was the same color as the Collector's eyes.

His hope rising, Danny moved quickly forward and placed his hand over the glass ball. He waited anxiously for something drastic to happen, to feel some sort of surge of power letting him know that he'd found the object they'd been looking for, but nothing of the sort occurred. The teen's shoulders slumped, and he moved to pull his hand away from the useless ball, but paused when the fog inside of it began to clear.

Danny turned back to face the ball, narrowing his eyes curiously. The whitish color of the ball had been replaced by darkness, and, as he looked closer, he could see a face forming inside of that darkness. Actually, it was a person. A person with dark hair and purple eyes. Eyebrows furrowing, Danny murmured, "Sam?"

That was Sam. For some reason, he was seeing Sam inside the glass ball. Danny leaned down further, his eyes locked on his friend's face. She looked upset. Seeing that look on her face made Danny's gut twist with guilt. He could only assume he was the source of her sadness. And, though he wanted to stay and look at her, he knew he didn't have time to waste.

"Don't worry, Sam," Danny quietly told his despondent friend. He slowly pulled his hand away from the ball, sighing softly as the image of Sam faded away. "I'll be back soon. I promise." Looking down at the floor in thought, Danny called over to Vlad, "Find anything yet?"

"Unfortunately, no," Vlad called back. He was currently inspecting inside a pink refrigerator that wasn't working. Apparently the Curator had found the old broken piece of kitchen hardware a storage container and had filled it to the brim with useless junk. Moving swiftly and methodically, Vlad went through the boxes of shattered record pieces, keys, coins, buttons, and washers.

Taking out an old spokes wagon wheel and setting it aside, Vlad got on his hands and knees to explore deeper into the fridge where he found a collection of knitted blankets that looked like they had been hand crafted by some grandma. Again, Vlad sighed this time in anxiety. They were losing precious time.

"Crap!" Danny hissed, once again throwing another floating ghost artifact away from him. It had been a small, star-shaped gem that only ended up shocking him the second he touched it. Rubbing his sore hand, Danny grumbled under his breath, "I've almost had enough of getting hurt by everything I freakin' touch."

Just as the teen went back to inspecting the other objects drifting slowly above his head, an unnatural chill raced down his spine. Danny's eyes widened as a burst of fine, blue mist escaped his mouth, freezing his breath in his chest. "Vla-!" Danny's shout of alarm was abruptly cut off when he spun around and slammed headfirst into the strong, cold chest of the Collector himself.

The ghost towered over the frightened teen as if he'd somehow managed to grow several more feet in the past ten minutes. Practically trembling with anger, the Collector reached out and clamped his massive hand through Danny's hair, twisting it violently when the boy tried to squirm away.

When Danny cried out in pain, the Collector snarled, "Be silent, you little brat." Turning around and dragging the boy by his hair, the ghost drawled as he glanced about the room, "I suggest you stop what you're doing, Mr. Masters, and come where I can see you. Right. Now." The ghost's scowl only seemed to darken as he tightened his grip on Danny's hair, forcing the teen to shout in agony.

Because he knew the Collector couldn't see him from the stacks of books, Vlad quickly turned invisible despite the ghost's grave orders. He was surprised the Collector hadn't used his power, yet the confusion didn't impair Vlad as he silently moved so that he was behind the Collector and Danny. He carefully picked up a baseball bat from the wide range of collection of things around the room, turning it invisible too.

Maintaining even breaths despite the fact his heart was slamming hard against his chest in apprehension, Vlad came up behind the Collector, swung the bat back, and aimed for the ghost's head.

The bat connected unmercifully with the Collector's head, earning Vlad a sharp cry from the ghost and a pleasant cracking sound from the wooden bat. The ghost stumbled forward, releasing Danny as he leaned a hand against his desk and cradled his throbbing head in one hand.

Danny practically tripped over his own feet, staring in shock at the injured Collector through the tears of pain in his eyes. Even though he couldn't see Vlad, he knew that he'd been the one to hit the Curator. That thought terrified Danny to impossible degrees. No one had ever even touched the Collector before. What was the ghost going to do to them now that Vlad had hurt him? These frightened thoughts ran through Danny's head in a second. He hadn't even had time to react.

Unfortunately, that was his undoing. Before either of the halfas could move, the Collector shoved himself upright, spun unsteadily back towards the source of his pain, and yelled, "_Neither of you move! Not one inch_!"

If possible, Danny's eyes widened further in fear as his feet locked themselves to the ground, and he stared up at the injured and furious Collector.

Swinging his head back and forth like a wounded lion, the Collector rumbled, pain hitching his deep voice, "_Return to visibility, Mr. Masters. Do it now_!"

When Vlad appeared, he was only inches away from where the Collector currently stood, bat in mid swing. If the ghost had been any slower with his order, he would have received a second hit. Breathing hard, Vlad tried to mask his fear with anger as he glared in frustration back at the Collector, unable to move and too discouraged to speak. He couldn't believe what he had just done.

Shaking with fury, the Collector glared right back down at Vlad and reached out to wrench the bat from his frozen fingers. He tossed it away without breaking eye contact with the halfa. He was so angered, he couldn't even speak. It didn't help that his head was pounding painfully from that hit.

The ghost took a moment to lean back against his desk again and rub the back of his skull, wincing as he did. It had been a long time since he'd felt pain. It wasn't something that he missed.

Once he felt well enough to move, the Collector rose back up to his full height, letting all of his rage and fury flood back into his body. The boiling feeling of anger made the pain he was feeling fade into the background. His hand shot out and grabbed Vlad by the front of his shirt, and he lowered his head to growl into the man's face, "You _will_ regret this moment, Mr. Masters. Count on that."

Releasing Vlad with a disgusted shove, the Collector turned his gaze onto Danny, and he approached the frozen teen. "Tell me, child," the ghost practically hissed his words, "did you honestly think you could outwit me? Do you take me for a fool?"

Danny swallowed hard but didn't answer. He was too scared for himself and Vlad to even form words. He wanted to turn his head away when the ghost stepped forward and yelled into his face, "_Answer me_!"

"Yes!" Danny blurted unwillingly, closing his eyes just in case the Collector hit him for his response. He nearly fainted when the ghost grabbed his chin in one icy hand and lifted it up so that he had no other choice but to look up into his raging, white eyes.

"And whose idea was this? Which one of you thought you could enter my personal study and get away unscathed? Which one of you had the audacity to do such a thing?" the Collector asked, chuckling darkly as he added, "As if I even have to ask."

Though Danny couldn't move his head, his eyes flicked over to Vlad's back, and he trembled as he thought of the punishment the Collector was going to give him for what he'd done. If Danny didn't take the blame for this, Vlad's punishment would be even worse, and he couldn't let that happen.

"It was me," Danny murmured, his fear making his voice breathless. "It was my idea. It was me, I promise."

"No," Vlad spoke up before he even thought of what he was saying. He wanted to shake his head but was unable to. There was no way Vlad was going to allow Danny to take the full blame for what had happened. Although it had been the teen's initial thought, he had consulted Vlad with it and depended on the man's response and action to implement it. So through his rising fear, Vlad said, "No, it was both our plan. We both thought of it."

The Collector stared solemnly at Vlad's back before letting his eyes return to Danny. He roughly let go of his chin and grabbed the back of his shirt instead. "Then I suppose both of you will have to suffer," he spat, dragging the boy forward so that he could capture Vlad's shirt as well. "Such a shame," the ghost murmured in a mock regretful tone as he dragged the halfas towards the door, ordering them in a growl, "_Walk_."

Unable to break away from the Collector's grip and too afraid to speak, Danny stared up at Vlad, silently demanding why the man had done what he'd just done. He'd been trying to protect Vlad, and he'd ruined it. Why? The teen lowered his eyes and closed them as another wave of fear came over him. He was honestly terrified right now.

"I want you two to know something," the Collector began, staring straight ahead as he led the half-ghosts down the hallway, his strides long and precise. Somehow, the ghost was managing to scowl and give a twisted smirk all at the same time. "I am going to enjoy this. Perhaps before I wouldn't have, but now...trust me, my halfas, I will gain amusement. I wish for you to think of it later, once this is all over. When you ponder if you could possibly outsmart me, stop to think about what I find entertaining and consider...'do I want to do this? Do I want to entertain my dear Curator?'"

The ghost let out another round of soft chuckles as he said, "A part of me dearly hopes that you will."

Vlad glanced over the Collector, his expression a mix of rage, anxiety, confusion, and disgust. After what had happened after the food fight, Vlad knew the ghost had completely snapped. He was unpredictable in every fashion except one: he enjoyed the pain and discomfort his power brought over the humans. Vlad didn't know what was in store for him and Danny, but he knew it was probably going to hurt...and maybe not just physically.

Pushing down another wave of fear, Vlad glanced up at the bruise he had created on the Collector's head. Though it was fading, the sight of it gave Vlad a little hope. Somehow the Collector was vulnerable. All he had to do was find the weakness. If he could find it, he could unlock everything. Yet Vlad knew the day of that discovering was very far away.

"Ah, here we are. How lovely," the Collector said, his voice light as if all his past anger had been forgotten in their short walk. The group had arrived at a large, white door that even managed to tower over the Collector himself. Reaching forward, the ghost took hold of the large doorknob and pushed the heavy door open before moving inside with the half-ghosts in tow.

Once inside, Vlad and Danny took a moment to stare around at the bleak, empty white room that seemed to dwarf all of them with how large it was. Danny swallowed hard at the stark whiteness of the room. There was just something very disturbing about it.

The Collector hummed a soft tune as he let go of the halfas' shirts and turned slowly on his heel to face them both. "_Ghostforms. Now_," he told them, smiling as the pair was forced to comply to his command. How he was enjoying the fear on their faces. How the ungrateful creatures deserved every last minute of this. And the fun was only starting.

Clasping his hands comfortably in front of his body, the Collector murmured, "Before we begin, I must tell you a few things. This room is completely ghost proof. So if you have any silly ideas about escaping, think again." He pointed back towards the door and stated, "Once I close this door, there will be no leaving until I open it. You'll also be quite happy to know I will be able to see everything that goes on inside here while I am not present. How delightful an innovation, yes?"

Chuckling, the ghost turned as if to leave the room before he paused and shook his head. "Oh, silly me," he tutted, lightly smacking his forehead. "So forgetful, Curator." The Collector's chuckling immediately halted as he turned on Danny and grabbed his chin again, "_You will not move until I say_."

After receiving a fearful nod from Danny, the Collector turned on Vlad and smirked. "As for you, Mr. Masters...well, let me just say that you've been given a great honor today. Would you like to know what it is? Hm? _Just take a guess_. Humor me with your intellect."

"Something is going to fight us," Vlad guessed automatically, hands clenching into fists as frustration was the emotion that won from all the other competing inside him. He could do nothing as the Collector continued to hold them in suspense, as if relishing the look of sheer fear on Danny's face.

"Oh, hmhm, close," the Collector replied, shaking a forefinger at Vlad as if he was an amusing little child. His smile faded momentarily as he leaned down to be on Vlad's level so that he could stare right into his eyes. "I have thought long and hard about this, Mr. Masters. Until recently, I had thought endlessly, uselessly on how to properly punish you. For days the question plagued me. You do not care if you are injured, and I had always thought you would not care if the others were hurt, either. However, you answered the question for me, didn't you?"

The ghost's vile smirk returned, and he lowered his voice to a heated whisper, "It is no good if I harm you, or if I harm dear Mr. Fenton. No, we both know that would not work. That is why _I_ will do nothing. You, Mr. Masters. You will be administering the punishment today."

He reached out to clamp his hand down on Vlad's shoulder as he said, "I can think of no greater pain than being the one to harm something you...truly care about. Wouldn't you agree?"

Before Vlad could even get a word in, the Collector grimly ordered, "_You will fight Mr. Fenton as you have done so many times in the past. You will show no mercy, and you will not stop until I order you, nor will you begin until I have given the order._"

Eyes wide with fear, Vlad shook his head once he received the order. His eyes flickered over to Danny before they connected with the Collector's again. "No," he said quietly, voice lost in his distress. Shoving the Collector's hand off his shoulder, the man aggressively took a step toward the ghost, shouting angrily up into his face, "You can't make me do this! I could permanently hurt him!"

"_Be still_," the Collector calmly said as he held his arms behind his back. He raised an eyebrow and asked with a hint of amusement, "Did you just say that I _can't_ make you do this? Have you forgotten the extent of my powers? Do you not see what I am doing to you ask we speak?"

The ghost shook his head, laughing softly. "I can make you do anything I please. It just so happens this is what I please, Mr. Masters." He turned his gaze onto Danny who had gone silent with horror at what he was seeing. The Collector loved the look on the boy's face; the fear that was so obvious in his eyes. And he had every right to be terrified.

Focusing back on Vlad, the Collector smirked as he cruelly said, "You have injured him before without worry for his long term safety. I do not see why this situation is any different."

Vlad squeezed his eyes shut as emotions roared through him. He knew he needed to focus. He desperately needed a plan. Yet it seemed pretty bleak at this moment.

Opening his eyes, Vlad glowered darkly at the Collector as he said in something close to a snarl, "Don't lie. You know what changed. You know why this is different, and you plan to use it until you're fully satisfied."

"Mmm, yes, well I'm glad we're both on the same page," the Collector replied smugly as he turned towards the door. He walked slowly, making his steps slow and languid just to torture the half-ghosts further. Without looking back, he said over his shoulder, "You boys have fun now. Don't start until I'm ready."

Trembling badly, Danny stared over at Vlad, desperately hoping the man had some sort of plan that would get them out of this. He knew that he was doomed. He could never win a fight against Vlad even when he actually planned on fighting. "Vlad...I-I can't fight you," the teen whispered, his voice shaking as he realized the full implications of his situation. Vlad was going to beat him to a pulp and have absolutely no say in the matter at all.

"You...you won't have to at first," Vlad told Danny, trying his best to keep an even, firm tone. If he panicked, he knew Danny would too. Looking around the room as if sizing it up, Vlad forced his emotions away so he could think properly. Recklessly, he threw his feelings into its familiar box in his head. Brain working furiously, Vlad tried to come up with a reasonable plan. Danny needed something to stick to. Right then, he needed a lot of hope.

"Avoid me at all costs, Danny," Vlad said quickly. "Eventually, I will have to wear out. When that happens, take me down. Use your ice powers, your wail, whatever is in your arsenal. I don't care, just use it. Do whatever you can do to stop me, because I won't be holding back. Remember, I'm quick and methodical. Be prepared for multiple swift attacks. Nothing extravagant. Don't face me head on. That never worked for you in the past, and it won't work today. You can do this, Danny. Understand?"

As much as Danny wanted to believe that he had an ounce of hope to win this fight, he knew it wasn't going to happen. He wasn't even sure if he could bring himself to attack Vlad at all. Just the thought made him cringe. Even though he wanted to tell Vlad this, he couldn't. Vlad needed hope too because he didn't want to do this to him.

"O-okay," Danny forced himself to say, his voice nothing but a pathetic whimper. "I'll try."

The Collector cleared his throat to interrupt the half-ghosts sappy moment, and he flashed a grin as he opened the door. It was finally time to start the show. "_Mr. Fenton, you may move. And Mr. Masters...attack_."

With the order given, the ghost left the room and locked the door before going to the viewing window to watch how everything played out.

For the first three seconds, Vlad didn't move. He stood planted on the spot, eyes closed and hands clenched into fists. With all his will he was trying to suppress the ghost's spell upon his mind and body. He knew his restraint wouldn't last long, but just a few extra seconds for Danny to get prepared was all Vlad wanted.

Eventually, his self control was sapped away. Eyes opening, Vlad barely even looked for Danny as his fists burst with energy and he fired his first powerful ectoplasm blast at the boy.

Danny had taken the time Vlad gave him and ran with it. Or, more correctly, flew with it. He'd put as much space as he could between himself and the man, and that was how he was able to see the blast coming and avoid it by throwing himself to the right out of the line of fire.

He hit the ground and rolled to a kneeling position as he quickly looked back towards Vlad. He had to keep his eyes on Vlad at all times. That was his only hope.

Not waiting to see if his blast hit Danny, Vlad flew towards the teen. In his palms he quickly created another stronger ball of ectoplasm. With a sharp battle cry, Vlad violently threw the ball at the teen.

Releasing a gasp of surprise, Danny went with his instincts and turned intangible as he threw himself into the air. He flew forward, through Vlad's attack, and eventually through Vlad himself. Once he appeared behind the man, he spun in the air, hands raised to fire his own ecto-blast into Vlad's back, but his hands trembled, the energy in his palms dying out to nothing.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't hurt Vlad even though the man was trying to pummel him. Danny knew his position, if possible, had just gotten ten times worse.

Spinning sharply around, Vlad was hoping he wouldn't see Danny there. Yet there he was, standing right behind him with his palms raised as if ready but unwilling to attack. Vlad didn't understand why the kid hadn't fought back when he had such a good chance, but Vlad couldn't dwell on that at the moment as he felt his body automatically shift into a familiar striking stance.

"Move, Danny!" Vlad yelled at the as he thrust both his palms forward, aiming an ectoplasm blast straight for Danny's open chest.

The warning came too late for Danny to react in time. His eyes widened, and he tried to dodge to the side again, but he was too slow. Vlad's attack caught him in the side as he tried to dive out of the way. With a shout of pain, Danny was thrown backwards, and he plowed into the wall with as much force as the blast hit him in the first place.

Slumping to the floor, Danny wrapped an arm around his stomach, desperately trying to regain his breath as he struggled to get back to his feet.

"Create a shield!" Vlad ordered Danny as he flung another ball of energy while flying toward the downed teenager. Vlad saw that Danny was understandably not prepared to fight. He needed more time to talk to the boy, and a protective shield would provide the minute or so he needed. "Create one now!"

Danny reacted instantly to Vlad's words and pushed himself up to his knees as he threw his hands out to create a dome-like shield around his body and part of the wall. He cringed and panted hard when Vlad's initial attack crashed into the shield, but he managed to hold it. For now, at least. He knew it was only a matter of minutes before he was doomed.

"I can't-I can't do this, Vlad," Danny gasped out, lowering his head to breathe and calm the throbbing in his abdomen. "I can't hit you. I'm sorry, I can't do it."

Landing in front of the shield, Vlad felt himself pause before throwing a fist back and punching the barrier as hard as he could. As the color rippled through the shield from the harsh impact, Vlad told Danny sternly, "Yes. Yes, you can! You can't dodge me forever, Danny. You're going to have to fight back."

Grunting from exertion, Vlad slammed an elbow into the shield, thankful when it didn't break and he was forced to punch it again. "Look," Vlad tried to reason with Danny, "I understand you don't want to hurt me just as much as I don't want to hurt you, but the fact of the matter is that you're going to be severely hurt if you don't defend yourself."

Stepping back when it was evident his hits weren't working, Vlad shook his head as he started to fire ectoplasm shots at the shield and said, "I...I can't control myself, Danny. This needs to stop, and the only way we can do that is if you fight back!"

Arms trembling from the strain of holding the shield up, Danny closed his eyes. He knew Vlad didn't want to hurt him, but that was the only way this was going to end. The teen knew the Collector would keep them both at this until he got what he wanted. He would force Vlad past his physical limits to be entertained, and Danny knew this. Unfortunately, what the ghost wanted was both of them in pain.

After receiving another strong ecto-blast, Danny's shield crumpled, and the force of the impact threw the teen back into the wall again.

Groaning in pain, Danny pushed himself back to his feet, looking up at Vlad as he shook his head. "He's not gonna stop, Vlad," he muttered, knowing that he was about to be hit and prepared for it. "You know he's not gonna stop until I'm hurt so just hurt me!"

Raising both his palms up toward Danny, it looked like Vlad was going to attack, but he somehow paused. Shaking slightly and breathing hard from the mental and physical effort of keeping his body frozen despite the spell that drove him on to destroy the boy, Vlad said through clenched teeth, "I know, I know! But I just want you to defend yourself. Attack me, Danny!"

It was at that moment, when Danny saw how hard Vlad was fighting against the Collector's power, he realized that Vlad needed him to fight back. Even though he wasn't going to win, Vlad needed him to fight so that he didn't feel worse about pummeling a defenseless opponent.

Danny knew that he couldn't do this to Vlad. He couldn't let the man beat him without even trying to fight back. The guilt would surely hurt Vlad worse than any injury he was going to sustain in this fight.

So, with a grim expression, Danny turned intangible and flew through Vlad's chest again. As he returned to tangibility on the other side, he grabbed Vlad by the cape and yanked it down as ice incased his hands and quickly ran over the fabric of the cape.

Danny flew backwards a few feet once he'd successfully frozen Vlad's cape to the floor. He knew he was just delaying the inevitable, but he'd do that for Vlad.

Vlad grunted in disorientation as he had to smash the ice incasing his cape. Shattered frozen crystals fell to the ground as he spun around to face Danny, trying to keep the bit of relief off his frowning face. Without much consent as to where his body was taking him, Vlad shot high into the air and released a volley of ectoplasm balls down on Danny.

Danny knelt down on one knee as he created another shield above his head to block out Vlad's attacks, scowling anxiously at the floor. He winced, arms nearly buckling under the onslaught of ecto-blasts. Somehow, he managed to keep the shield up, and he raised his head to look up at Vlad.

He wanted to fly up there and try to fight him hand-to-hand, but Vlad had said not to do that. That left him with using only ectoplasm. _Not a confident booster right there_, he thought to himself with an internal sigh.

Gritting his teeth, Danny jumped back to his feet and threw a spinning disc of green ecto-energy up at Vlad with all his might.

Vlad simply conjured a shield to block the disk, waving the attack to the side. Once that was out of the way, Vlad shot down at Danny while throwing a multitude of different attacks.

Vlad's first attack cracked Danny's shield while the other that immediately followed shattered it completely. Danny was thrown to the floor with a shout of alarm as yet another one of his weak shields was destroyed. Pain radiated up the boy's shaking arms, and he lifted his head up to see Vlad flying towards him.

Instead of fleeing, Danny waited until Vlad was close enough to touch before he shoved himself up from the floor and swung a punch at the man's face.

Vlad's reaction was quick and precise, as if he had seen Danny's motive before the teen had even conceived it. He pulled up short and turned to the side, watching as Danny's fist whipped past his head. Overextended from missing his mark, Danny was open to Vlad's next attack. Swiftly grabbing Danny's wrist and twisting it painfully, Vlad pulled the teen forward to brutally elbow Danny in the side of his head. Vlad gave Danny no time to recoup as he let the teen go, took a step back, and harshly blasted him across the room's floor with a point blank ectoplasm ray to his chest.

Danny finally slammed into the floor nearly halfway across the room from Vlad and rolled several times before he eventually came to a stop. The teen couldn't even breathe as he curled into a ball, desperately sucking in air to fill his injured chest. It literally felt like Vlad had broken his ribcage with that attack. It didn't help that his head was throbbing dully, making his vision turn all fuzzy.

He honestly didn't know how he was even still conscious after that. Just like the Collector had ordered, Vlad wasn't going easy on him. Every attack was stronger than anything Vlad had ever thrown at him before.

Coughing weakly as he attempted to breathe, Danny pushed himself up to his hands and knees. His arms wanted to give out on him and it felt like there was blood matting his white hair together on the side of his head, but he fought to stand up anyway. It was just in his nature to keep going until he just couldn't move anymore.

Just as Danny got to his unsteady feet, Vlad had caught up with him. "Danny-!" the man yelled in alarm. Vlad thought the teen saw him coming, but he was mistaken as Danny didn't do anything but glance up in surprise when Vlad landed beside him and followed-through with a powerful punch to the boy's head.

The hit dropped Danny like a sack of bricks, and he smacked into the floor with a definitive thud. The boy knew that he'd blacked out for a few seconds as he blinked his eyes open and saw someone standing over him. He couldn't make out who it was. All he knew was that he was waiting for something...for the Collector to stop the fight, but he didn't hear anything. The ghost was still letting this go on. He wasn't stopping it yet. Why?

_Just pass out_, the teen told himself as he rolled onto his side as if to try and stand up again. _Just...just pass out. Please, let me pass out. Please, please._ Danny let out a pitiful groan of frustration, but that was the only thing he could voice at the moment.

"No," Vlad whispered as he tried once again to fight the Collector's spell. Despite his best efforts, Vlad's endurance was wearing thin. In a flash of movement, he stepped forward, seized a handful of Danny's hair, and yanked the teen mercilessly to his feet. Vlad could only watch in escalating horror as his body went through the motions of snatching up Danny's wrist and twisting his entire arm behind his back before slamming the teen into the nearby wall.

Pinning Danny there, Vlad squeezed his eyes shut to battle what he knew he was going to do next to Danny. Chest rising and falling laboriously, Vlad whispered, "I'm...I'm sorry." Soon as the words were out of his mouth, Vlad's electric powers were released.

Danny hadn't thought he could be in any more pain than he already was, but he was surely proven wrong the instant the electricity poured into his body. He hadn't thought he'd be able to howl in agony and struggle uselessly to get away, but he was wrong again. He also didn't think that his vision could get any worse, but that was proven false as well.

The boy didn't know how long the torture lasted. It could've been minutes or days, he had no sense of time. The only thing he could sense was the pain. Just before Danny's eyes closed, allowing him to mercifully pass out, he heard a deep voice ring through the room, commanding in an authoritative tone, "_Stop, Mr. Masters_."

With that voice echoing in his ears, Danny's eyes shut as his body went limp, and he drifted into a blissful painless world. Even as the teen lost consciousness, the door to the room reopened, and the Collector came back inside. He approached the two half-ghosts, his expression unreadable as he leaned down to see the state of them.

After a long pause of inspecting Danny, the ghost turned his eyes onto Vlad and smirked. "I was waiting for you to do that," he told the man, dark amusement in his tone. "Decided to save it for the grand finale, I see. You are indeed a master of suspense, halfa."

Vlad's eyes had remained on Danny the entire time the Collector had examined them, his body shuddering slightly with inner turmoil and guilt. He couldn't believe what he had just done to the boy. Closing his eyes, Vlad wondered with his gut wrenching in anxiety what Melody and Ryder would think of him when they saw what happened.

Composed for the most part, Vlad was doing his best to get a control over his emotions. But the Collector's comment had opened the flood gates to an anger that had been residing inside the man's chest. It recklessly surged to Vlad's brain, cutting off all logic and self preservation.

Eyes flickering up over to the Collector, there was a dark pause between the two before Vlad turned and shot an ectoplasm blast at the ghost with a battle yell filled with rage.

The blast passed harmlessly through the Collector and exploded into the far wall with a loud fizzing sound. "_Don't move_," the ghost serenely ordered Vlad as he returned to tangibility. He took a step forward, his expression morphing from amused to solemn in an instant. "_You will not attack me again, Mr. Masters. Never again."_

Straightening back up, the ghost shrugged leisurely and smirked, "Did you really think I would fall for the same trick twice? Did you truly believe you could outsmart me? I know you, Mr. Masters. When you are angry, you lash out." His gaze drifted down to the motionless Danny as he added in a mock woeful tone while shaking his head, "Such a shame when the innocent are at the end of your wrath. Poor boy doesn't look so good, does he?"

The Collector became serious once again as he snarled, hands fisted at his sides, "_Look at him, Mr. Masters_. You did that to him. It was your fault and yours alone. _Tell me...how does it make you feel? To hurt the only person in your pitiful life that actually cares about you_?"

Staring at Danny, heart aching inside his chest, Vlad took a deep, steadying breath before answering. When he spoke, Vlad's voice was even and calm yet leveled with a hint of the true despondency he was feeling.

"I feel guilty," Vlad said automatically. "I feel angry at myself for pushing things too far, angry at you for making me do this." Wishing he could close his eyes, Vlad finished quietly, "I feel like I deserve to be the one lying there, not Danny."

"Oh, but where would be the lesson in that?" the Collector replied, narrowing his whitish eyes down at Vlad. He didn't let the man look away from Danny as he continued, "I can, and I will make you do this again if you push me. All it takes is one, little word, Mr. Masters." He held up an index finger to signify his point. "One word. If you continue to question my authority and your place here, I will continue to resort to this punishment."

The ghost lowered his voice as he murmured, "How long do you think it will take you to crack from the guilt? Two beatings? Three? Maybe when the boy is too weak to handle it, you could move on to the others. Miss Hart, perhaps? I'm sure she is curious about your abilities. Or maybe Mr. Walker. He has already proven himself capable of handling a beating. One from someone he considers a friend couldn't possibly be much worse."

Swallowing in fear, Vlad struggled to maintain his calm exterior composure. On the inside, he was more than a mess; he was close to panicking.

_Why? Why did you allow yourself to care like this? When did you become such an idiot?_ Vlad yelled at himself in his chaotic head. _You're so vulnerable! And he knows it! You won't be able to keep this up if he punishes you like this. This is going to ruin everything you worked for!_

When Vlad didn't respond, the Collector nodded, looking satisfied even as he scowled down at the half-ghost. "I will let you think about it, Mr. Masters," he said, waving a hand as if he was being very gracious and kind. He turned back towards the door and gestured for the group of guards outside to enter.

They had brought a stretcher with them and didn't hesitate to load the silent Danny onto it before wheeling him out of the room without another word. While the ghost guards went towards the Infirmary, the Collector put a hand on Vlad's shoulder and led him back towards his room.

"Once Mr. Fenton is mobile, I will return him here. I am uncertain as to how long this might take, but do not worry. The doctor is very skilled," the ghost explained quietly, stopping himself and Vlad outside of the doors to the main room. As the Collector pressed his palm to the panel beside the doors, he told Vlad, "If there is anything you would like to say to me, now would be the time, Mr. Masters."

The Collector's most recent threat still staining his brain, Vlad didn't want to respond to the ghost at first. He was afraid that anything he said would come off as either too disrespectful or obnoxiously weak. Silence was the best thing for the man to hide behind.

Then, as if all his conflicting emotions, thoughts, and ideas decided to simultaneously click into place, Vlad felt some of his old stubbornness return as clarity miraculously came to him. There was no denying he was still scared about his situation concerning the Collector's decided punishment for him and what the future held, but Vlad had rediscovered a part of himself that could never be so easily squashed under the Collector's heel. He'd seen it many times in Danny while fighting him in the past. It was what made the boy such a worthy opponent.

It was that ability to keep fighting despite all odds.

Beyond terrified, Vlad finally told the Collector, "You have no idea what you're dealing with, sir."

Raising an eyebrow back at Vlad, the Collector remained silent for a moment. He seemed to be trying to see something on Vlad's face that wasn't there. After a nerve-wracking pause, the ghost nodded a little as he said, "You may be right, Mr. Masters."

He reached out to push Vlad into the room before he added with a dark frown, "But I think the real question is...do _you_ know what you're dealing with?"

Turning back to look at the Curator, Vlad caught a glimpse of the ghost's foreboding expression before the doors shut in his face. Swallowing with uncertainty, Vlad said quietly under his breath, "One day I will, and that will be the day I destroy you and your entire museum."

A/N: So this weekend is pretty hectic for me, so I might not get another chapter out, but I'm gonna try. This chapter is kinda paired with the second. Hopefully I'll see you readers on Monday!


	22. Chapter 22 Relationship Problems

A/N: Ug. I'm so sorry for not updating on time this weekend. I've been pretty distracted this past week. That's my excuse. Anyways, next weekend I'll do another double update for lacking these past two weeks. One more thing, I just want to point out to some people that this is not just my fan fiction. Mutantlover and I both wrote this fic, every other paragraph is a different writer between us, and so my writing only makes up for half of this fic. I just feel like ML needs some credit too just in case. I don't want to take it all. Not much else to say except enjoy the chapter and thanks for all your reviews!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Lots of dramatic stuff happened! While Ryder and Melody distracted the museum and the Collector with a bomb, Vlad and Danny investigated the Collector's creepy office. When the Collector caught up with them, he was forced to punish them both by commanding Vlad to attack Danny. In the end, Danny was beaten to unconsciousness by a very reluctant and guilt-ridden Vlad. We left off with the Collector smugly letting Vlad off at the main room.

Chapter 22 Relationship Problems

Stepping away from the door, Vlad changed back into his human form while turning around to face the rest of the room. A spark of pain drove through Vlad's right hand from his knuckles. Wincing, Vlad inspected the damage he had inflicted on himself by punching Danny. They were simple bruises, but the weight of them was much more than that. They reminded Vlad of what he just did and what he would have to tell Melody and Ryder who were shooting him curious looks from the picnic table.

Running his hand through his hair in despair, Vlad took a moment to fully compose himself before sighing in resignation and walking toward the table. Every step he took toward the two thieves was one of reluctance. Putting his hands into his pockets to hide his one wound, Vlad realized that he couldn't predict the reaction he was going to get. Another thing that terrified him.

Before Vlad had even reached the thieves, Ryder stood up, his intense concern palpable on his face. His white shirt and hands were covered in black dust, and Vlad could only assume that it was from the bomb.

"Vlad?" Ryder began, his blue eyes searching the space behind the half-ghost for the missing member of their group. He took several steps towards Vlad, his unease only seeming to get worse when he saw no sign of their youngest member. "Where's Danny? Why isn't he with you? What happened?"

Vlad opened his mouth to answer, but he quickly closed it when nothing could come out. Not until he was seated at the table's bench did he even attempt to explain what happened. Releasing another steadying sigh, the man looked up at the two worried thieves and tried not to wince at their grave expressions. Though he hated to tell the story, the two deserved the truth.

"The Curator's office was too big to search in the time we had," he began quietly. "The Curator all too quickly captured us. Danny tried to take the blame, but I couldn't...I couldn't let him do that, so we both got punished." He paused, trying to gather the right words and the courage to finish the story.

"Shit. What happened?" Melody whispered, arms folded up so that she could fiddle with the few short strands of her hair on the nape of her neck. "What was your punishment?"

Vlad couldn't look at the two and say the words together. Making a compromise with himself, the man's eyes drifted down to the table as he said emotionlessly, "The Curator ordered me to attack Danny."

Ryder stared down at Vlad, completely unable to just sit back down like nothing was wrong. He knew something was wrong. If nothing was wrong, Danny would be there, too, but he wasn't.

The man ran both his hands across his bald head, letting out an anxious, hissing breath. "Is he okay?" the thief asked quietly, his voice sounding like a small, frightened child. "If he was okay, he'd be here, wouldn't he? He's not okay, he's not." Ryder stopped talking and shook his head as he began to pace back and forth behind where Melody sat.

"I don't know how bad off he is currently," Vlad told them truthfully. "I hit him pretty hard in the head at least twice."

"_Vlad!_" Melody shrieked in astonishment, eyes wide in horror. "You could have shown a little restraint!"

"He ordered me to be merciless, Melody!" Vlad shouted back, unease evident in his voice and in his narrowed stare. "We had to keep going until Danny passed out. You think I enjoyed that? Hell no! Don't you see? That's the whole reason why he ordered me to do it in the first place."

"You...you beat Danny until he passed out?" Ryder murmured, his eyes round with fear at the thought. Just thinking about anyone hurting their group infuriated Ryder, but the fact that it was Danny made it ten times worse. He was just a kid. It was their job to protect him first out of all of them.

The thief continued to shake his head as he paced. He knew he couldn't blame Vlad. It was the Collector's fault. All of this was his fault.

Looking up at Vlad, Ryder unwillingly asked, "What else did you do to him?"

Vlad swallowed before answering in a slow, reserved mumble, "I might have sprained his wrist when I twisted it that first time. I'm not sure about his shoulder when I pinned him against the wall. And maybe...a few broken ribs from all the ectoplasm blasts. Then there was...mmm."

Sighing in despair, Vlad rested his arms on the table and hid his head on them. He couldn't take watching Ryder pace anymore or Melody's expression of fear. He just wanted to be left alone with his own thoughts.

Melody gave Ryder a worried glance before looking back over to Vlad. She had never seen him so depressed before. It was almost disheartening in and of itself to see someone she looked up to so distraught. She didn't know what to do besides gently place a hand on Vlad's arm and tell him softly, "I'm sorry for saying that about you."

"I know," Vlad sighed without lifting his head.

Ryder stayed silent for a second longer before sitting back down beside Melody and reaching out to comfortingly pat Vlad's other arm. "It wasn't your fault, Vlad," he told the man seriously. Like Mel, he didn't enjoy seeing Vlad this way. He was upset about what had happened and afraid for Danny, but he was also concerned for Vlad.

"Danny's...he's tough," Ryder continued slowly, eyebrows furrowing sadly when he thought of the injured teen all alone in the Infirmary. "He'll be okay, Vlad."

"I know," Vlad repeated.

Like before, his tone didn't suggest he was frustrated with them or anything along those lines. He was just resigned to the fact that he knew nobody blamed him and that eventually Danny would be okay. He of all people knew how well Danny could bounce back. No. Vlad's trouble was coming to terms with himself about being the cause of so much misery, and he didn't think the thieves would be able to help him in that area.

It didn't help that more needed to be said.

"He threatened me again," Vlad spoke up after a long bout of silence. Again, the man didn't look up to inspect his friends' faces. He didn't think he could take it anymore.

Ryder shifted his feet beneath the table and fiddled with his hands in his lap as he glanced at Melody from the corner of his eye. He looked back at Vlad as he said, "Heh...you're like a threat magnet, Vladster." Clearing his throat swiftly, the thief asked, "What was it this time? Unless, you don't wanna talk about it. 'Cause you don't have to or anything, but I'm curious, but that's okay if you don't want to...yeah."

Vlad took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They had to know. "He told me that punishment will be my permanent one for now on," Vlad said. "He said that if I show any act of defiance, that he will give me that punishment again. And sometimes...it won't be Danny I'll be fighting."

"Oh..." Ryder mumbled, slowly letting his gaze drift away to stare out across the room. His eyes were mostly drawn to the big, smokey black spot on the ground from his and Melody's bomb. It was so weird that only half an hour ago he'd been so happy and now he felt the exact opposite emotion.

"Well." The man fisted his hands and looked across the table at Vlad as he said, "The Collector's an asshole." He flashed a small, defiant smirk at being able to curse and mean it before he added a bit more somberly, "But...if that's how it has to be, I'd rather get beat up than let Danny go through that again."

"I don't think asshole quite covers it," Melody said after another pause, trying to hid her unease behind a small smile she shot towards Ryder. Returning her eyes to Vlad, her smile faded. The girl wanted to cheer the man up or at least make him feel better so that he wasn't so depressed, but she wasn't sure how to go about that. Hopeful for suggestions, Melody glanced back over to Ryder.

"Yeah, well, y'know I'm not a curser," Ryder replied, giving the girl a tiny smile in return. He could tell by the look she was giving him that she wanted to cheer Vlad up, but he had no idea how to do that. The last time he'd tried to help, he'd made everything worse, and they'd ended up soaking wet and hair-cutted.

Worried that he would screw things up again, Ryder could only shrug and shake his head sadly back at Melody.

Messing with the little strands of what hair she had left, Melody sat back in her seat to ponder. She couldn't believe Ryder had turned down an opportunity to make something happy. It just wasn't like him, yet she understood where he was coming from. From the looks of things, she was going to have to cheer up Ryder first before she could move on to Vlad. The man would need some duel effort, she could tell.

Before she could open her mouth, though, Vlad suddenly moved. He lifted his head to wearily look at the two thieves and said, his voice sounding more tired than ever before, "Thank you, both of you, for understanding. I know you two mean well and want to help, but I'm afraid all I want right now is some privacy. I'll see both of you tomorrow."

That said, the man turned invisible and vanished. Giving a small gasp, Melody leaned forward to grab the man's arm. "Vlad, no! We-!" Melody's fingers met nothing but air as she realized the half ghost must have went intangible too. By then, he could have been anywhere. Pulling her arm back, Melody slumped in her seat in her usual pout.

Ryder stared at the spot Vlad had been sitting in before letting out a long sigh and slumping forward onto the table. He propped his chin on his arms, avoiding looking at Melody as he mumbled, "We suck."

Melody heaved a sigh, saying, "No, we don't. Vlad just needs time alone. He's one of those weird deep, long thinker types. Think of him as a computer. His brain has to compute and order everything out before he feels right again. It's dumb." Sighing again, she muttered, "I just wish he could learn to let others help him. Would be a lot easier on everyone."

Glancing over to Ryder, she realized she now had two crisis on her hand. One unhappy man was enough in this place, but now she had two to sort out. Smiling to herself, Melody thought, _Well, at least with Ryder cheering him up is gonna be as simple as reciting the alphabet._

"Hey," Melody said, nudging Ryder in the arm. "How 'bout we go play some basketball?"

Ryder glanced up at Melody, his expression remaining sad even as he sat back up and nodded a little. "Yeah, let's do that," he agreed, swiftly standing up. He rubbed the back of his head as he held out a hand to pull Melody to her feet as well. Once she was standing, he put an arm around her shoulders and shook his head.

He really wished that he could've helped Vlad, but he knew he couldn't have. That upset him, and he was still thinking about Danny, and it was just awful. Ryder needed to clear his head, and playing a game with Melody was the only way to do that.

Ryder smirked a little as he confidently told Melody, "I'm gonna cream ya, just so you know."

-24 Hours Later-

"You sure you're not mopey?" Melody asked as she moved a bishop, glancing carefully up to study Vlad's face. He was critically watching the chess board, probably plotting more than just the games' pieces out in his head. After a lot of time with the man, she was beginning to get better at reading him. It took a lot of effort, though. There were a lot of things that still remained a mystery.

"Positive," Vlad said slowly. Then, in a swift, exact move, he positioned his next piece in the game and sat back, still staring at the board before them. Looking up, he muttered, "If I was, then I don't think I would be playing you right now."

"Yeah, but you still have that faraway look in your eyes," Melody said, hesitating with a finger on her queen. "Like you're not all the way here. Like you're thinking about something else more important." She finally made her move and sat back to see what Vlad would do and say.

Without any doubt, Vlad moved his next piece, explaining with a thin smile, "I am, but I'm not discussing it until the time is right." With his queen in place, Vlad's smile grew a tad as he looked up at Melody and said, "Checkmate."

"Jeez, you don't even have to be trying and you can still kick my ass at this game," Melody sighed in defeat.

"Man, you guys are so nerdy," Ryder droned from his placed splayed out on the tabletop across from the pair. He'd been watching their game with his head hanging over the side of the table so everything looked upside-down, but that still hadn't made chess anymore interesting.

"Why didn't the Collector give us Battleship? Now that's a fun game!" the thief said, throwing his arms up to get his point across. He hardly even noticed that Melody and Vlad simultaneously rolled their eyes at him. Just before Ryder could continue on one of his infamous rants, the group of three stopped and looked up at the sound of the door opening.

Their gazes shot to the doors just in time to see them open. The first person they saw was the Collector. He stepped into the room, glanced vaguely in the group's direction, before focusing back on the kid he currently had holding onto his arm as if in desperate need of support.

Even from a distance, everyone could see just how bad Danny looked. Much like when Ryder went to the Infirmary, the teen's arm was in a sling with his wrist wrapped tightly with gauze. His face didn't look much better than Ryder's had, either, but the most shocking thing was the fact that his hair had been cut. Not only had it been cut, it had been buzzed down to the point that he looked like he was ready to go join the army at any second.

The Collector led Danny into the room and raised a hand to pat him on the head. He paused, however, and reconsidered his actions by instead patting the boy on the back. With that done, he turned and disappeared back out of the room.

Danny stared after him before slowly and unsteadily turning around to face the rest of the room. He looked like he was gonna fall down at any second.

In a flurry of movement, Melody, Ryder, and Vlad were on their feet and racing toward the hapless teenager by the doors. Vlad was the first one there. Kneeling down so that he was at the boy's eye level with his hands gently holding Danny's shoulders, he said in a rushed, quiet voice, "Danny, I'm so sorry! Are you alright...besides the obvious? Do you need help?"

"Oh my _gawd_!" Melody said loudly in shock. Lowering her voice just a tad, she said in a hiss, "You weren't kidding, Vlad. _Shit!_ Aw, no. They cut your hair too! Why the hell would they do that?"

"And his poor arm!" Ryder yelped, wishing he could just reach out and hug the kid. He resisted the urge, though, and stood right beside Vlad as he anxiously stared down at his young friend. "Oh, gosh, Danny, that isn't a good look for you at all."

Danny's hazy blue eyes drifted slowly across each of the concerned faces around him. It took him a moment to answer, his brain obviously working in slow motion. "I'm alright...I think," he mumbled, eyelids drooping low over his eyes. "My head...really hurts." He looked in Melody's vague direction as he said, his voice completely exhausted, "They wanted to...see if I needed stitches. Guess I didn't."

"Sure, so they shaved your entire head for that," Melody said sarcastically in an attempt to hid her real fear. By now it had sunk into her head how hurt she could get if Vlad got punished again. Danny's horrible condition made things terribly clear how vicious Vlad's attacks could be if the Collector ordered him to fight them.

"You're on pain medication, aren't you?" Vlad said to Danny with an enervated smile. "I'm sure you don't like answering all these questions, but I want to ask one more. Did the Curator do anything else to you while you were at the infirmary? Anything harmful?"

Danny nodded slowly in agreement with the pain pills. He had no clue how much the doctor had given to him, but it was effectively making everything seem very far away. "I don't...think so," the teen murmured, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to think through the distant ringing in his ears. "I can't...can't remember."

The boy closed his eyes in hopes of escaping the pain of pressure in his head. Lowering his head a little, Danny said, "I'm sorry."

Shaking his head vigorously, Vlad told the teen, "No. No, no, no! Don't feel bad, Danny. It is okay that you can't remember. It's perfectly fine." Lifting Danny's chin up with a forefinger, Vlad told him with a reassuring smile, "You're fine, Danny."

Danny's eyes were watery as he looked back at Vlad. He felt so awful and not just because everything on his body hurt. He felt awful because he'd tried to fight back for Vlad, but he'd still lost. He couldn't imagine how crappy Vlad felt for doing this to him. He couldn't even imagine what he looked like at the moment. He just felt so weak and scared and pathetic.

Trying his best not to just flat out cry in front of all of them, Danny whispered to Vlad, "I'm sorry I couldn't win."

Before he even fully knew what he was doing, Vlad had pulled Danny into a hug. As he automatically wrapped his arms around the teen's shoulders, the man said with a calm sigh, "It's alright, Danny. You did what you could, and that is all that matters. Of all the people who should be feeling guilty about this, it should be me, not you. Don't...don't you dare beat yourself up for what happened."

"_Vlad_," Ryder hissed as Danny leaned into the man to accept his hug and pressed his forehead against his shoulder. "This is adorable, but that pun was not!" the thief continued, throwing his arm dramatically to the side. He shook his head even as a small smile came to his face. It was nice to see that Vlad was actually capable of hugging.

"Sh-shut up, Ryder," Danny half-heartedly muttered to the thief as he hugged Vlad's arm with the only one he could move at the moment. Turning his waning focus back onto Vlad, Danny quietly said, "It...wasn't your fault, either. I know you...tried to stop."

Pulling away from the boy, Vlad said with a teasing grin, "A few times, yes, which isn't something I would recommend to anyone unless I didn't care for them that much. If it makes you any happier, boy, my body is still sore from the effort."

Danny dragged the back of his hand across his eyes, wincing when he aggravated the bruising along his face. "Don't...even talk to me about...sore," the teen replied, trying his best to smile just a little. It was really hard to do considering how detached from reality he was feeling. Yet, somehow, the pain managed to be prominent in his mind. It didn't make sense. His foggy memories of the fight did nothing to shed light on how badly the battle had truly gone.

The boy let out a tired sigh as he murmured, "At least...I can't remember the end."

Vlad's smile faded as his remembrance of what he could only assume Danny was talking about of the fight was still strong and fresh in his mind. With a small wince, the man thought, _I wish I could forget._

"That is probably a good thing," Vlad muttered while standing up to his full height. His movement seemed to signify the end of their conversation by the door. "You look like you're about to collapse," he continued. "Let's get you over to a seat."

"Yeah," Danny answered after a short pause. He definitely felt on the verge of falling down. Probably because he felt so dizzy. The teen glanced up when he felt a reassuring hand on his back. Ryder smiled back down at him, patting his back softly as if to tell Danny that he was there for him.

Danny turned his gaze up to Vlad, then over to Melody, and he felt tears rise in his eyes again. He was just so relieved and happy to see that their group had come together over time. They all actually cared about each other now.

"I missed you guys," Danny murmured through his clenched throat. Half of it was probably the pain medication talking, but he really did mean every word.

"Aw!" Melody cooed with a giggle. "Unlike Ryder, you're completely adorable when you're all dopey on pain meds."

As they slowly traveled back over to the picnic tables, Melody bent down slightly to Danny's height and said in a stage whisper, "Don't worry. We all missed you too. Oh, and especially Vlad! He had no clue what to do in his display case all day by himself, probably acted all depressed and mopey like he was during all of lunch and dinner."

"I was thinking," Vlad tried to defend himself. By his exasperated tone and sigh, though, he didn't seem to care about putting up too much of a fight.

"Aww, Vlad," Danny teased the man, giving the biggest smile that he could at the moment. It was hardly noticeable, but at least it was something. "You didn't have to...get all mopey for me, Vlad."

Ryder chuckled softly at the teen's tone before shooting Melody a scathing look. "What do you mean I wasn't adorable?" he demanded. The thief glanced down at Danny as he said, "If you're comparing me to Danny, of course I wasn't adorable! You can't compete with that! I mean, look at 'em. He's got that cute, kid prisoner of war thing going for him."

Glancing over to Ryder with his usual expression of antagonized dumbfound, which was reserved specially for the thief, Vlad stated, "I didn't know it was a competition."

Ignoring Vlad, Melody matched Ryder's heated expression as she told him with her nose in the air, "You said some pretty mean things to me when you were on the drugs. And you would not shut up in the display case. Either you napped like a giant, snoring baby or you sung stupid toddler songs everyone learns when they're four. It was not cute."

"Well, _excuse_ me for getting put on drugs against my will," Ryder shot back, holding his hands in the air as if he was truly offended. Pausing momentarily, Ryder pointed at the girl and grinned evilly as he said, "I think you just hate babies. 'Cause I was acting like a baby, and you didn't think it was cute. Baby-hater."

"Makes sense to me," Danny calmly agreed even though he really had no idea what the thieves were talking about.

"Don't encourage them," Vlad chided Danny. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Here we go."

"I'll have you know," Melody started off, index finger raised for attention and emphasis, "that babies are damn adorable. I love babies. What I don't love is some man-child singing Itsy-Bitsy-Spider at the top of his lungs 50 times in a row in my display case. That's not acting like a baby, Ryder. That's acting like a moron who is high."

"Well, that's what happens when you take too many painkillers, Melody," Ryder replied, speaking to the girl as if she was the one who was slow.

Danny gave a tiny smile again and leaned further on Vlad who was acting as his cane for the moment. "Oh, I missed you guys so much," the teen murmured, truly meaning every word. It was nice to get back to the basics again. Just listening to the thieves fight like they always did was extremely comforting.

"Well, they were nice, quiet, and well-behaved until you showed up," Vlad pointed out as he let Danny ease into a seat at a table. Taking his own usual spot beside the teen, the man grinned as he added, "You must be a bad influence."

Danny smiled back at Vlad and leaned against his side as he yawned softly. "Yeah," he agreed in a mumble. The teen rested his head on Vlad's upper arm and closed his eyes. "I probably am."

As the still arguing thieves sat down across from the halfas, Vlad looked down at Danny with a faint smile. It was hard for the man to believe that simply a few weeks ago Danny would have never willingly leaned against him. In the same sense, Vlad would have probably shoved Danny off him if it had happened.

Glancing up at the thieves, Vlad's smile only faded. He liked this group. He enjoyed everyone here more than he was willing to admit at that moment, but with that joy came so much fear and even pain. There was so much to lose now. In a way, Vlad's life had become harder than it was before. Despite this fact, Vlad didn't want to reverse the process. He hadn't felt at this much peace with himself since he had walked out of his parents' house and lives so many years ago. He felt like it gave him more strength than ever before.

Pausing in their argument, Ryder looked across the table at Vlad and Danny and smiled widely at the sheer adorableness that was happening. He held a hand up and said to Melody, "I'm right, you're wrong. Anyway!" He pointed at the two half-ghosts and declared, "This is the cutest thing I've seen in a while!"

The thief chuckled and shook his head. "I dunno how Danny doesn't have a girlfriend yet, honestly," he commented and scratched his chin. "Aren't young girls into nice guys anymore?"

"The young ones? No," Melody said matter-of-factly. "Considering how smart girls are, we're not so wise when it comes down to boys. It takes girls a while to realize what they want and very much need is a good guy." Before anyone could comment, she quickly added with a triumphant grin, "Oh, and as the only girl here and from lots of experience, I say you boys don't argue. Hey! Rolling your eyes, Vlad, is a sign of arguing. I don't appreciate that."

Ryder chuckled softly as he shook his head and said, "Girls don't make sense. Ever. Even at my age. Just take my word for it." He looked over to Melody and smirked as he added in a sing-song voice, "You're never gonna make sense!"

Danny lethargically blinked his eyes back open and gazed dully across the table at the thieves as he attempted to focus on what they were saying. He understood that it was something about...not making sense. "What're you guys...talking about?" he asked slowly without lifting his head away from Vlad's arm.

"Women, Dan-o," Ryder replied, leaning an elbow on the table as he waved a hand vaguely. "The great mystery of life." He straightened up a little and said, "You got a girl you like, Danny? You gotta, right?"

The teen blinked a few times before he mumbled, "Kinda...I guess. It's hard to think."

"Oh, he's definitely working on it," Vlad said with a lazy smirk. "Currently he is going for the slow and steady friend route with her."

Laughing, Melody asked, "How do you even know this, Vlad?"

"Because you can hardly separate the two back in Amity Park," Vlad explained. "She even ghost fights with him. She's probably the only one with brains in the entire group, too."

"Told you," Melody shot over to Ryder before grinning mischievously at Danny. "Come on, shrimp. What's her name?"

Danny still wasn't completely sure what was going on, but he knew enough for his cheeks to redden slightly in embarrassment. "...Sam," he said in a mutter, making sure to avoid looking at all the grinning adults around him. "But we're just friends. It's not like that...at all."

"Mmhmm," Ryder hummed in pretend agreement. "Sure, Danny." Glancing over at Vlad, Ryder nodded and smiled. "Oh, you're definitely right, Vladster. Slow and steady wins the race." Turning to Melody, Ryder added, "And I'm not saying girls aren't smart. I'm saying you don't make sense. Totally different."

"Right," Melody said sarcastically. "You ever wonder if girls don't make any sense that maybe it's because you guys aren't smart enough to get what we're saying? Yeah. Chew on that for a while. Anyways!" With a grin, she turned back toward Danny, saying, "It's good to stay friends with her, though. And if you guys have been friends for this long, the two of you are bound to get together eventually. It's always best to marry your best friend," she finished with a nod, wistful smile fading just a little.

"Ew, I'm not marrying Sam," Danny protested weakly, closing his eyes again as he shook his head slightly.

Flashing a grin over at the teen, Ryder said triumphantly, "Not yet, anyway!" The thief leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest as he nodded to what Melody had said. "You've got me there, Mel," he agreed, the smile on his face dulling in a similar manner as the girl's. He sighed softly as he brushed a hand across his bald scalp. "Maybe you girls make a little sense...maybe."

"Mmm. And maybe he's getting smarter," Melody teased half heartedly. Looking down to the table, the girl began to absentmindedly play with bits of her short hair.

Vlad watched as the mood of the group descended subtly. He could see it happening right before his eyes, but he didn't know how to fix it. Glancing down at Danny, Vlad realized he was the only one in the group aware enough to sort things out. Reluctantly, Vlad said to the two thieves in an attempt to make them talk, "I assume you two have relationship problems back home."

"Me? Have relationship...problems? No!" Ryder blurted, shaking his head as he instantly denied Vlad's claims. He stared off to the side, continuing to move his head back and forth as he muttered, "No."

The thief lasted for probably five seconds longer before he stopped shaking his head, sighed again, and whispered as his shoulders slumped, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Nothing I can fix, though. I wish I could...wish I could so much."

Vlad and Melody were silent for a few seconds, sharing the same confused yet pained expression. Clearly Ryder was upset about his problem, but neither were the type to comfort or ask delicate questions. Vlad motioned with a hand for Melody to take the lead, her being closer to Ryder and all. At first Melody shook her head in refusal until Vlad made a pleading gesture. With a roll of her eyes, Melody begrudgingly complied, shooting Vlad a venomous glare he deftly ignored. Their entire silent quarrel lasted around five seconds and went completely unnoticed by Ryder.

Scooting up closer to her friend with a look of great uncomfortableness on her face, Melody asked him quietly, "So...uh...what happened? I mean, if you don't mind me asking. We understand if you don't want to talk about it."

Ryder glanced at her before looking away again. He really didn't want to talk about it. He wished he hadn't said anything at all. In fact, he wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't remembered what Melody said yesterday about letting them help each other when they needed it.

Remembering how sad Melody looked when Vlad didn't let them help, Ryder let out an unwilling sigh. He knew what he had to do...no matter how much he wanted to pretend that his problem didn't exist.

Keeping his eyes firmly fixed away from Vlad and Melody, the thief slowly said, "When I was 23 I...met this girl. I, heh, I fell on her car on accident when I jumped out of a window, but that's not important. I knew from the second I saw her that we were...we were gonna get married." The man shook his head and quietly muttered, "Stupid. It was probably just from the concussion."

Ryder closed his eyes, paused to steady himself, before forcing himself to keep going. He hated remembering sad things. "We started dating and-and I asked her to marry me after a year, and she said yes and..." The thief shook his head, mentally bailing from describing the situation any further as he said, "Something happened. It didn't work out."

"Well, did she leave you? If so, there has to a reasonable explanation for it," Vlad asked. His eyebrows were furrowed together in perplexity. He didn't understand why Ryder was being so flighty and holding back on so many details until he thought of one big factor he knew remained steadfastly in the thief's life.

After receiving another heated glare from Melody that told Vlad to be a little bit more gentle with his usual calloused words, Vlad carefully asked with concern in his voice, "Did it have something to do with Jet?" Again, Melody gave Vlad a look, but this time it was one of confusion.

Swallowing back the tears he felt burning in his eyes, Ryder nodded slightly. He took a shaky breath before saying, "I tried to...hide my job from her. I tried so hard to keep her from finding out I was a thief, but I couldn't keep lying to her if I was gonna marry her. So I told her the truth, and she left..."

He trailed off and pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead. "I apologized so many times. I don't even remember how many times I promised her that I'd stop. She didn't listen. She was too mad and scared, and she left. After...after months of trying to find her, I got a call from a hospital. She-she'd died, and I was-I was the first person they called."

Ryder dropped his face into his hands, closing his eyes tight as he tried not to picture the entire chaotic scene in his head again. He tried so hard to avoid thinking about this. "Jet's all I have left of her," he muttered around his hands.

"Oh, Ryder," Melody said sympathetically, wrapping her arms around one of his. Her voice was thick with emotion as she whispered, "That's so sad. I'm so sorry."

"Me too," Vlad said solemnly. Although he didn't make a move to console the man, Vlad's compassionate expression was truthful and was the best effort he could currently make without jumping too far out of his comfort zone.

Sniffing a little, Melody suddenly stiffened as a thought came to her. "Wait," she said quietly in shock. "Jet. You said...Jet's not a dog? He's not-. Oh, oh my-. How did I not-?" Snapping her head over to Vlad, realization came over her as she said, "And you knew this whole time, didn't you, Vlad?"

Ryder pulled his face out of his hands, quickly dragging his free arm across his wet cheeks as if hadn't been crying. Just looking across the table at Vlad's face answered Melody's question for him, and he cleared his throat softly as he murmured, "Yeah...he's not a dog."

He scrubbed at his cheek with the back of his hand, saying in a quiet voice, "I try not to...tell people about him too much. He's, ah, he's five-," Ryder broke off, shaking his head again as he looked away and pressed his lips together to shut himself up before he totally lost it.

"Gawd, you must miss him," Melody whispered, astonished. Suddenly, a lot of things Ryder did made sense to the girl. The Power Rangers ring from his necklace, him always correcting his swearing, his infinity toward kid games, and his vast knowledge of Preschool songs. She couldn't believe she never saw it before. She just assumed Jet was a very beloved dog like Ryder had told her and took it as that. She felt like an idiot and a very poorly perceptive friend.

"You'll see him again," Vlad suddenly said, a supportive smile hinting on his lips.

Switching her hug to a better sideways one that stretched awkwardly around Ryder's shoulders, Melody took Vlad's cue as she smiled sadly and told her friend, "Yeah. You'll see him again. Just you wait. When we get out of here, the two of you will meet again, and his eyes are gonna light up when he sees you. I'm sure he's adorable, too. Am I right?"

Smiling softly as he pictured his son's face, Ryder nodded. "Yeah," he agreed, his voice tight with emotion. "Don't...don't tell the little twerp that, though. That's just what he wants." The man bit down on his bottom lip and muttered, "Crap," as he rubbed at his eyes again. He'd been trying so hard not to outright think of Jet, and he'd been doing a pretty good job of it until now. Now all the floodgates had been opened.

Ryder leaned into Melody a little, continuing to rub at his burning eyes. He freaking hated to cry, especially in front of people. "His birthday's coming up soon," the thief tried to explain as he let out a heavy sigh. "I can't miss that. I just can't. That's too important to him. He'll think that I...that I left him for good."

"Then that's even more motivation for all of us to get out of here," Melody said, for once sounding comforting. Grinning, she said, "We better all be invited to his party, or I might just have to beat up birthday boy's dad."

"Oh, and you wouldn't want all of her 90 pounds pouncing on you," Vlad teased with a stoic voice. "How vicious."

"I'll have you know that I took plenty of self defense classes in college," Melody shot back at the man. "I know how to kick someone's ass."

"Yoga isn't self defense," Vlad pointed out with a nasty grin.

"You're so mean!" Melody said, trying not to laugh. The man simply shrugged in response, a proud smile coming to his lips.

"Tai-chi doesn't count, either," Ryder added after a short pause. He flashed a small smile at Melody as he said, "And of course you're invited. I want Jet to meet all of you. He loves it when I tell him stories...but he'd love it even more if he could meet you guys in person."

The thief looked over at Vlad as he said with a grin, "I bet you could get him an awesome, expensive present, right?"

"Of course," Vlad said with another shrug, grinning mildly. Looking over at Melody knowingly, he said, "Although I don't think I'm the richest person in this room."

"What?" Melody said, trying not to look too guilty.

"You stole a lot of money if it earned you a ticket into here," Vlad stated.

"Yeah. So?"

"I'm just saying that if Mr. Walker wants an expensive gift for his kid, you really should be the one he consults."

"Y'know, he's gotta point, Mel. I bet you're loaded," Ryder murmured, rubbing his chin as he thought about it. He waved a hand as he said, "I'm not exactly poor, either. I got a bunch of houses I live in. A bunch of nice houses, thank you very much." The thief leaned his elbow back on the table, letting out another soft sigh.

His gaze drifted across the table to Danny, and he smiled a little. "I really like that kid," Ryder said, chuckling at the clearly sleeping teenager. "I hope Jet's as cool a teenager as he is...I really, _really_, hope he's as cool as Danny is, actually." He put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. "I can't handle taking care of a teenage version of me. I just can't do it."

Vlad actually laughed at the tragic humor in Ryder's statement as he tried to envision such a horrible case as two Ryders having to take care of each other. Covering his mouth quickly, Vlad glanced down at Danny to make sure he hadn't woken him up before saying jokingly, "I can see your problem. We have trouble taking care of you even though you're an adult."

"Don't listen to him," Melody told Ryder with a giggle. "You're going to be a great dad, Ryder. Hell, you already are, I'm sure. And with Aunt Melody on the scene to help out, I'm sure he'll turn out perfect." Looking back over to Vlad, she added with a snarky grin, "I don't think he should hang out with Uncle Vlad that often, though, unless you want him to come out being mean and grumpy. He's best in short doses."

Ryder grinned at that and readily agreed by saying, "You are so right." His eyes drifted skyward as he added, "Like monthly doses of Uncle Vlad. That'd be safe." His smile slowly grew as he thought aloud, "We could have, like, barbecue get together things, and reunions and stuff. And we could visit each other on our birthdays and throw each other surprise parties."

He pointed at Vlad and eagerly said, "We could hang out and watch football or something!" He looked over to Melody and continued, "And you could come over whenever you wanted. You could babysit! ...If Esperanza doesn't mind. She's kinda, well, Esperanza-y."

"Who is Esperanza?" Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow. The thief had mentioned her before, but he hadn't cared at the time to know who she was in Ryder's life.

At the same time Vlad asked this, Melody said in an excited rush, "Oh, that sounds like fun! Ohmygosh, I could bring Matthew, and we could both babysit for you!" Before she said anymore, the girl realized what she had said and clammed up. Twisting a short strand of hair around her finger, she avoided Vlad's stare and waited for Ryder's response.

"She's my babysitter," Ryder answered, giving Melody a curious sideways glance. He stopped and quickly corrected himself, "I mean, Jet's babysitter. Not mine. And it's kind of a long story, actually." The thief paused again as he considered whether or not to tell the entire thing.

After a moment, he shook his head and said, vaguely waving his hand around through the air, "Long story short, she's an assassin that was supposed to kill me, right? I've always got people who wanna kill me, but she's the one who got the closet. Anyway, she tried to kill me, failed. Then, a couple months down the line, I ended up saving her life. Esperanza's all about honor and stuff, so I made her a deal. If she agreed not to try to kill me anymore, she could repay her debt for me saving her life if she babysat Jet for me."

Ryder smirked as he thought of the woman. "She loves that kid more than she'll ever admit. Turns out she's really...well, she's not really nice, but she's good protection, that's for sure. And I'm pretty sure she digs me. Pretty sure. Almost positive. Completely positive, actually."

Melody and Vlad shared a dubious glance, not sure if they wanted or could believe all that Ryder had said. Finally, Melody had to laugh as she said, "That's one hell of a babysitter."

Ryder nodded as he said, "Yeah. Not many people can say that their babysitter can cook their kid dinner and snap a grown man's neck without even trying. At the same time, of course. But, then again, I'm not many people." He placed a hand graciously against his chest and raised an eyebrow suavely.

Even as he kept the eyebrow raised, he pointed at Melody and casually asked, "So who's Matthew?"

Melody's smile instantly vanished. For weeks she had been so good. She hadn't thought of Matthew that much, keeping the memory of him locked away for harder days when she really needed the motivation. But he was always there in the background despite her best efforts, popping up in random thoughts. When she had mentioned his name in the elevator with Danny, she hadn't even realized it. After that, she knew it was only time before she slipped up again. Now she was truly stuck as she was pinned with stares from both Ryder and Vlad.

Delaying the inevitable, she said while messing with her hair and looking down at the table, "A boy back home."

Ryder shared a glance with Vlad, keeping his eyebrow arched before he turned back on Melody. "_Ooooh_," he teased her with a grin. He'd teased Danny about having a crush on someone, and it was only natural to do the same exact thing to Melody. Not to mention, she'd made him talk about his messed-up feelings and life so he was gonna make her do it too. It was only fair.

"Wouldn't happen to be your 'best friend' now, would it?" Ryder questioned knowingly.

Melody swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. In the museum she liked coming off as cold, confident, and very much independent. But that wasn't necessarily the truth, especially when it came down to Matthew. She was at her most vulnerable when around him, and just knowing he was out there worrying about her made her insides turn to mush. She missed him too much.

"Yes," Melody admitted in a firm voice, trying hard to keep herself together.

"Hm." Ryder stared down at Melody, eyebrows furrowed together. He suddenly felt so...old. He didn't know why, he just felt like an old man looking at on a young girl in love. He guessed it was because he'd already been where she was now at one point in his life.

After a short silence, Ryder held up an index finger and squinted his eye at Mel as he seriously said, "Well, this boy's gonna have to pass my inspection before there'll be anymore of this relationship thing. You hear me, young lady?" Shaking away the solemn look, Ryder smiled a little and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just kidding...sorta. He's a very lucky boy, Melody. And I'd be more than happy to meet him when we get out of here."

"That's...that's the thing," Melody squeaked out, breathing a little unevenly as her shoulders hunched. "What if...what if he doesn't wait for me?"

"What? Not wait for you? Are you crazy, girl?" Ryder exclaimed, rearing back on the bench as he stared at Melody like she was indeed insane. "Who the heck wouldn't wait for you? Seriously?" He leaned forward to look into her eyes as he continued sternly, "You're smart and pretty and you kick as-butt. You're not a ditzy blond girl who can't stand on her own two feet. You're a tough young lady who has more brains and thieving skills than any grown man I've ever met."

He pointed at her and said honestly, "If he doesn't wait for you, then he's making the biggest mistake of his life, I can tell you that." Ryder's expression softened, and he added quietly, "And I know you wouldn't be dating someone stupid, Ice Queen."

Tears in her eyes, Melody looked over at Ryder. Sniffing, she said, "I...I know, but what if he thinks I left him? Like I bailed out on him? I can't blame him if he thinks I left him. He...he knew I was scared of commitment. B-big commitment."

Ryder didn't hesitate to put an arm around her shoulders and give her a comforting squeeze. "If he cares about you as much as you care about him...he'll never think that, Mel," he told her. The man nodded, smiling as he said, "He'll wait for you. Just gotta have a little faith.

Melody nodded, giving a small sigh as she rested her head on the man's shoulder for support. She knew she needed faith, but as the days went by and she was still trapped inside the museum, her hope only waned and the more she missed the one person in her life that completely understood her.

"I know," she said, trying to smile. "It's just hard sometimes, you know? I really miss him. It's even a physical reaction in your gut because you miss them so badly. Like that." Receiving nods of understanding, she sighed again, and the table fell into a long silence as everyone retrogressed into their own thoughts.

After a few minutes of this, Vlad looked up from where he had been staring at the table. Smiling at the group, he announced, "It has been a long day, so I think it is safe to say we should all get some sleep. Come on. Ryder, you want to help me with Danny?"

Quietly, the group dispersed and traveled back to their cabins, ready for sleep but never fully prepared for the troubling days ahead.

A/N: Aw! The group is finally starting to really get along and open up to each other! And I believe the Vlad and Danny hug was adorable. Ha ha! Anyways, I'll be updating twice this next weekend. See you readers then!


	23. Chapter 23 Get Your Flirt On

A/N: Guh! Sorry for getting this out late. Things on my end are starting to get pretty busy as I'm getting ready for another semester of university. But I promised two chapters this weekend, and I'm gonna fulfill that promise. So without further ado, enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Vlad had to tell the others what he had done to Danny as his punishment. While horrified, they understood for the most part, but Vlad is still riddled with guilt. When Danny came back to the main room from the Infirmary, it was apparent that he'd been beaten up but he was still his same old stubborn self. Him and Vlad even shared a hug. At the end of the chapter, we found out that Jet is not actually a dog but Ryder's toddler son, and Melody has a boy back home named Matthew who's she's been afraid might leave her because of her absence. Despite this recent hardship, the group grows stronger every day.

Chapter 23 Get Your Flirt On

_Pain. That was all he could feel. Everything on his body ached and burned and throbbed, giving him a whole new understanding of the word agony. He'd been through dozens of ghost fights, but nothing hurt as bad as this beating did right now. _

_He looked up from his sprawled position on the floor and saw a tall, dark, intimidating figure standing over him. He knew the glowing red eyes glaring down at him, and he recognized the pointy, black hair instantly. Vlad. Vlad had been the one to do this to him. _

_Before he could stand, Vlad reached down and dug his fingers deep into his hair, twisting it violently as he cruelly yanked him to his feet. He knew he shouted in pain, he knew he tried to pry the strong fist from his hair, but it was all useless. This wasn't going to stop. And when another vice-like hand clamped around his wrist and pulled his arm behind his back, he knew when this battle was going to end. _

_He tried to squirm away. He tried to call out to Vlad to stop. Nothing worked. He heard Vlad apologize to him in a whisper, but he couldn't understand why. The electrifying agony that stretched up from his arm and spread to the rest of his body within moments immediately answered his question. He opened his mouth to scream out in pain and-_

Danny's eyes shot open as he jolted awake. He rapidly looked around, panting hard as he examined every inch of his tiny display case. After a few seconds, he slumped back against the wall where he had fallen asleep, shakily running a hand across his buzzed scalp only to wince when his skull ached painfully from the action. He was still getting used to the fact that pretty much every action hurt him.

From his spot in the middle of the room where he was entertaining guests by splitting himself in two and throwing ectoplasm balls back and forth between his second half, Vlad looked over to Danny when he saw the teen awake with a startle. In a moment's notice, Vlad's clone vanished along with the ball of energy. The crowd gave a collective cry of protest, but Vlad waved them off with a roll of his eyes. He'd been trying to amuse them for a few hours. It was a good time for a break.

"Are you alright?" Vlad asked Danny as he came over and sat against the wall next to him.

Danny looked over at Vlad before dropping his eyes back to his lap. He stared hard at his heavily bandaged wrist and forearm, eyebrows furrowed as he finally realized how he'd gotten so badly burned. It was from Vlad's electrical powers. That was how Vlad had ended the fight.

"I just...I had a bad dream," the boy murmured, closing his eyes as he rested his pounding head back against the wall. After his initial visit to the Infirmary, he hadn't been allowed anymore pain killers. The Collector obviously wanted him to tough out the pain.

"A bad dream that was real," Danny elaborated for Vlad. He kept his eyes firmly shut to block out the memories of the fight that had suddenly become very prominent in his mind.

Vlad stared at Danny for a moment, expression somber and thoughtful. He allowed himself a small smile finally as he got comfortable by the wall and said, "I believe we've had this conversation before. Only this time it's reversed." He paused before saying hesitantly, as if unsure of his own words, "If you want to, you can talk about it."

Danny didn't answer for several moments, silently debating whether or not if he should say anything. Surprisingly, he found himself wanting to talk about what had happened rather than just sweeping it under the rug like it hadn't even happened. Or maybe he was just desperate for comfort from his horrible memories.

"It was of the fight...the end of it," Danny slowly said, opening his eyes to stare across the room at the wall. He squinted his eyes a little, murmuring, "There's more too, I just...I can't grab it in my head yet."

"You mean, there are memories of your time in the infirmary?" Vlad asked carefully, trying to get off the subject of the fight. Despite the knowledge of it not being his fault, the man still felt rather guilty about the entire thing. If he hadn't been so brash as to try to knock the Collector's head off with a baseball bat, Vlad knew he probably could have prevented the entire fiasco.

"Yeah," Danny replied, gently rubbing the side of his head when it gave him a particularly painful ache. He pulled his hand away, shaking his head as he muttered, "I can't wait till my hair grows back. My head is freezing. I don't know how Ryder deals with this..."

The teen trailed off, sitting up from his slouched position a little. "The Collector was there when I woke up," Danny said quietly, sounding as if he was struggling to remember the details of his time in the Infirmary. "He- the doctor had just shaved my head, and the Collector got him to wake me up so that he could..."

Danny stopped talking again, clamping his mouth shut as everything came back in a rush. He pressed a hand gently to his injured ribs, his face pinching up as if he was in pain.

Danny didn't have to finish his sentence for Vlad to know what probably happened. Features regressing into a biting frown of disapproval with a tinge of disgust, Vlad asked quietly, "He tortured you, didn't he?"

"Y-yeah," Danny whispered, voice shaking as he went through the process again in his mind. Fear spiked through his veins, and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the memories away. They wouldn't leave, though. No matter how hard he tried, he kept experiencing the whole thing over and over again.

"He kept...kept pressing on my ribs," Danny said breathlessly, hands trembling as he remembered the pain. "He didn't stop. He wouldn't stop until I-" he broke off again and shook his head once, tears rising in his tightly shut eyes.

Seeing Danny so upset and in pain seemed to put Vlad on autopilot with his actions. The man just couldn't stand seeing him so distraught. It made him wince physically and emotionally. Cautiously, Vlad wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders and pulled him close without even thinking about the act. "It's alright. It's all over now. I'm sorry, Danny," he said automatically in an attempt to comfort the teenager.

Danny leaned into Vlad without even realizing what he was doing. He was still lost somewhere in his horrible memories. "No...it's not over," he muttered, his voice very close to a whimper as he wrapped his free arm around his stomach. "He's gonna do it again, Vlad. He said he was gonna do it again i-if we try anything. He's gonna make you hurt me again, but worse than before."

The teen shuddered at the thought, knowing he couldn't go through that process again. Who knew what this beating had done to his head? It couldn't happen again.

"If we don't get out of here...he's gonna do it again," Danny whispered.

Danny's words struck a chord within Vlad's life, and he flinched again as his unease squeezed his stomach painfully. He tried not to display his true fear as he said quietly, "I know. I know, Danny. And I'm trying so _hard_ to get us out of here, but I can't think fast enough."

Trembling slightly, Danny murmured, "He said that he's smarter than us. When...when he was twisting my wrist the wrong way-" He stopped, clenching his eyes shut when he remembered the agony of what the Collector had done to him. The teen took a short breath and forced himself to continue, though his voice shook with despair, "Maybe he's right. He's always one step ahead of us."

Vlad couldn't believe what he was hearing. In all his months of battling the teenager when they used to be enemies and even in the many weeks of struggling to escape from the museum while friends, he had never heard Danny sound so defeated, so worn out and hopeless. Vlad could hear it in the boy's wavering and weakened voice, he was on the precarious edge of giving up. The pain was becoming too great for the teen to handle, which Vlad understood perfectly because he constantly went through the same ordeal; nonetheless, it shocked the man to see Danny at his very weakest, at his most vulnerable. It simply broke his heart.

"Maybe," Vlad said, soft voice slow and thoughtful. "But maybe not." Looking down at Danny, Vlad said in a conspiring whisper, "I'll let you in on a little bad guy secret, Danny. Villains: we really like to be in control (that's a given), and one way of accomplishing that feat is by _looking_ in control. If you look in control by demonstrating your power and bits of your intelligence whenever it is to your favor, your audience and/or enemy will think you are, and most of the time that is all you need in a fight. Intimidation works wonders, and the Curator is using all the chances he can get to use it on us.

"Whether the Curator is smart and in control or not, he doesn't have what we have," Vlad went on. "He doesn't have anything to fight for. He doesn't have anything anchoring him. He has no compass whatsoever to point him in the right direction, and that's a dangerous place to be." Counting on his fingers, Vlad said, "That means he won't have our determination, our motivation, our direction, and our cohesiveness as a group. We have all those things now, Danny. We have a chance."

Danny sniffed a little and dragged his good hand across his eyes, finally realizing that he'd totally just started crying in front of Vlad. He hadn't even noticed. He felt completely embarrassed and ashamed at himself for being so weak, but that emotion was being semi squashed by a sort of timid confidence. He wanted to believe what Vlad had said. He wanted to stop feeling like he was feeling now, but he wasn't sure if he could.

Looking back up at Vlad with his teary eyes, the teen quietly asked, "You...you really think so?"

"I do," Vlad answered truthfully, trying to keep his reassuring smile on his face. Momentarily he glanced down at the floor before locking his stare with Danny's. He knew this had to be said. If he waited now, the chance might slip away forever.

"This might sound selfish, which isn't anything new coming from me, but out of everyone in our group here, Danny, I care about you the most," Vlad straight up told the teen. "I'd do anything to keep you out of harms way. I'm going to get you out of this museum, Danny. I don't care what it takes, I'm getting you out. Understand?"

Danny could only blink back at Vlad in surprise. Quite honestly, that had been the last thing he would have ever thought the man was going to say to him; not only at that moment, but ever. Sure, he'd known that Vlad cared about him enough to feel guilty about beating the crap out of him, but he'd never actually said anything like it out loud.

The boy didn't know what to say. He almost thought it was too good to be true. This meant that...Vlad really wasn't going to hate him anymore. He wasn't ever going to try and hurt him again or do anything evil to him. After months of fighting between them, it was finally over. There was no more hoping that it would end, it was officially over.

This realization made Danny tear up even more as he nodded slowly, his relief forcing his shoulders to sag. He would've hugged the man if he'd been able to, but he settled for pressing his forehead against Vlad's shoulder and whispering in a choked voice, "Th-thanks, Vlad."

There were no more words to be said as Vlad wrapped his arms around Danny's shoulders. With a sigh, Vlad closed his eyes as an unexpected wave of relief slowly washed over him. This was it. There was no turning back now. Vlad knew from this moment forward that his life would be changed forever...and for the better.

He could feel it. This was what he had been searching and yearning for for all those miserable years. Ironically enough, a relationship as strong as the one he had formed with this mere teenager was exactly Vlad knew he needed. He never would have expected it to turn out this way, but he supposed that was how life liked to play. Sometimes it taught you lessons the hard way.

"Sorry for...for being such a wimp," Danny mumbled against Vlad's shoulder. The man's hug just made him want to burst into tears even more, but he restrained himself to simple, soft sobs. He just felt so relieved and hopeful and in pain. He'd honestly never experienced this unique feeling before. At first, he'd wanted to cry from despair, but now he wanted to cry from his overwhelming sense of hope.

The Collector had been right when he'd tortured him the day before. The ghost had said numerous times that Vlad cared about him too much, that he was going to use him to put the man in his place, and that Danny was his ultimate weakness and that he was going to exploit that every chance that he got. Maybe he'd been in too much pain to understand the truth in the ghost's words, but now he truly did.

He and Vlad weren't enemies anymore, and they never would be again. Now they were real friends.

"You aren't a wimp," Vlad said with a mild chuckle. "You're simply human. Hmm. Half human, but still human, nevertheless."

Danny wanted to argue with Vlad because he definitely felt wimpy, but he eventually decided against it and nodded instead. The teen closed his eyes and gently pressed a hand against his very weak ribcage as he murmured unsteadily, "Vlad. I-I need to tell you something..."

Vlad was unsure of the tone in Danny's voice, but he asked anyways, "What is it?"

Keeping his eyes squeezed shut, the boy murmured, his voice barely audible, "I remembered why the Collector was torturing me. He...he wanted to know- I'm sorry. I tried not to say anything, but I-I couldn't breathe. He kept pressing on my broken ribs, and I tried so hard to be quiet, but he wouldn't stop. And then he started turning my wrist the wrong way, and I c-couldn't do anything to stop him."

Danny kept his face buried in Vlad's shoulder so he wouldn't have to look at him as he pathetically apologized over and over again.

"What did-? Hey, it's alright, Danny. What did the Curator want to know?" Vlad asked, trying not to sound too demanding.

Danny nodded shakily, forcing himself to continue in a pained mutter, "He wanted to know about your family. Because...he-he remembered when we were talking about your parents and-and I guess he didn't know much about your family so he made me tell him..."

The teen let out a shuddering breath as he said, "He didn't know about your uncle, but...now he does. I-I'm so sorry, Vlad."

With his free hand, Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose as he whispered angrily, "Mmm. Damn it!"

Letting out a lamenting sigh, Vlad forced his anger down so he could tell Danny, "No. It's okay. I know it wasn't your fault, Danny. I never should have mentioned him to you, but I wasn't thinking straight at the time." Frustration and rage returning with a vengeance, Vlad shut his eyes as he hissed at himself, "I'm an idiot!"

Danny flinched weakly, his guilt instantly doubling due to Vlad's reaction. He knew when the Collector demanded to know about Vlad's relatives that it didn't mean anything good was going to happen, but Vlad's response had just confirmed his worst fear.

"He's...he's going to hurt him, isn't he?" Danny asked, shaking slightly as the words came out. He grabbed a handful of Vlad's shirt out of frustration and shook his head against the man's shoulder. "It's _my_ fault, Vlad. I shouldn't have l-let him get it out of me."

Eyes losing some of their anger but still holding firm onto some coldness, Vlad sighed as he assured Danny once more in a tired voice, "None of this was your fault, Danny. Even if you hadn't told the Curator, he would have just ordered you with his power to give him the information. He would have gotten what he wanted with or without your knowledge. Don't blame yourself."

After a pause, Danny unwillingly nodded. He knew Vlad was right. Even if the Collector hadn't gotten what he'd wanted from him, he could have easily just gone to Vlad and forced him to answer his questions. In fact, it probably would've been easier to do just that.

"That means...he did that just to hurt me," Danny murmured in realization. A tremble passed down his spine as he said, "It-it would've been easier to go straight to you. He just wanted to hurt me. That was the only reason." The teen's eyes opened slowly, flaring a soft green before dulling back to blue as he sighed.

"What an asshole," Danny muttered before he stopped and shook his head. He was spending too much time around Melody.

Vlad blinked down at Danny in surprise before breaking out into a small smile. Despite his age, it was rare to hear the teen swear like that, but Vlad had to admit he was happy to see Danny's vigor and anger come back to him. Where would the boy be without his usual temper?

Before he realized it, Vlad responded icily, "I don't think asshole quite covers it." Only afterwards did Vlad make a face, suddenly remembering that Melody had said the same thing to Ryder just the other day.

"You're probably right," Danny agreed in a low grumble. Even though he was angry, he was actually pretty happy. He was glad that he felt angry instead of scared and timid. Granted, he definitely still felt scared and in pain, but he was angry too. It was just...nice.

The boy slowly let go of Vlad's shirt once he realized he'd been grabbing it in a death grip, and he sat back against the wall, releasing a quiet gasp of pain when his abdomen ached from the action. It wasn't very comfortable to sit like this. It hurt his head and his stomach to try and sit up straight. He'd actually been more comfortable before.

Danny glanced over at Vlad for a moment before he slouched down a little and leaned to the left so that he rested against Vlad's side. He gave a small smile as his comfort returned and told Vlad with a yawn, "I know we can get out of here. I'm...I'm scared, but I know we can do it. We just need a...a really good plan is all."

Resting the back of his head up against the wall, Vlad closed his eyes and said wearily, "That is easier said than done, I'm afraid." Opening his eyes, Vlad stared out across the room, his gaze a calculating one.

Danny looked up at Vlad when he went quiet and shook his head a little. The man's expression practically screamed: _Thinking Face_. He didn't know if Vlad was aware or not of how much he did that. Dropping his gaze, the boy stared at the ground, silently joining in the thinking process.

"Well," Danny started slowly, narrowing his eyes when his head throbbed. Shaking the pain away, he forged on, "We've always gotten farther when ghosts helped us. Maybe we just...haven't found the right ghost yet."

Glancing down at Danny, Vlad managed a smile as he said, "Maybe." His smile turned slightly malicious before he said again, this time more to himself, "Maybe."

-That Night-

Vlad wisely bid his time all day, waiting until it was during the last few minutes of dinner and the table was dwindling into silence to tell the others one of the many things he had been thinking about. Slowly, he studied everyone in turn: calm Melody still taking delicate, even bites from her food, Ryder leaning back in his seat in satisfaction from eating his entire meal in the first minute of handling it, and finally Danny who was staring at his half eaten food rather distractedly.

"I'm just going to come out and say it," Vlad suddenly said as he pushed his empty tray to the side with a calm smile. "To escape, we are going to have to know the other ghosts here better."

_Now...let the discussion begin,_ Vlad thought.

There was a moment of silence from the group before Ryder nodded his head reasonably and said, "That sounds logical." He paused for a second before clearing his throat and adding, "Oh, did I say logical? I meant the opposite of that!"

The thief spread his hands on either side of his head, saying, "_Hellooo_, Vlad? They want to kill us, in case you forgot! Greg? Veronica? _Chauser_..." Ryder clenched his fists and glared hatefully into the distance as he said the ghost's name. Shaking away his fury, he focused back on Vlad and pointed at him. "I think you lost it, V-Man."

"Chuck doesn't want to hurt us," Danny stated before Vlad could. He glanced up from his food and looked over at Ryder as he shrugged tiredly. "Neither does Faze. So...that's two."

"Oh, good, two," Ryder sarcastically agreed, bobbing his head in pretend happiness. "Two out of...uh, a lot! Not good odds, Danny. Not good odds at all!"

"I kind of have to agree with Ryder on this one, Vlad," Melody sighed when the man turned his gaze on the girl for her opinion. Seeing him open his mouth, Melody quickly cut him off by pointing back at him and saying sharply, "Don't make the argument with Veronica not exactly being after us just because she simply did what Gregory told her to do. So she's a little apathetic, that doesn't make her someone we should necessarily cozy up next to. I kind of want to keep her apathetic rather than angry or even annoyed at us for even talking to her again. Don't you remember what she did to Danny? She could do that again."

"Don't try to sway me by pulling the empathy card, my dear," Vlad said, not daunted in the least bit. The man had prepared for this kind of disagreement, and he was determined to fight for his opinion to be clearly heard and understood. "You know that I would never want that to happen again to Danny or to anyone else, for that matter.

"Nevertheless, we have always gotten the closest to escaping when we used another ghost's power," Vlad continued as he leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. "This room is teeming with some of the most powerful ghosts in history. We would be fools not to use them. Not only that, but some of these ghosts have been here since the very beginning of the museum. They have knowledge we don't have and will never gain unless we ask."

"Well, what makes you think they're even gonna talk to us?" Ryder questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest. He'd gotten over his fear of the ghosts, sure, but that didn't mean he wanted to test their patience by bugging them. He was still very wary of ghosts in general.

"I mean, Chuck talks to me 'cause he's old and senile," the thief went on, "but all these other ghosts probably aren't. Why would they even stop and listen to us for five seconds?"

"Because some of them are bored," Vlad answered plainly. "They have been here for centuries with very little people to talk to. Granted, that is also the reason why Gregory has attacked us, but there are plenty of regular, mild ghosts here that would be willing to open up to us if we give them the chance. Faze and Charles are just examples.

"And," Vlad said uncertainly. He knew he was on dangerous ground as he continued. "There is Roy, the one with the water powers. He looked highly uncomfortable while spraying us, if I remember correctly. If left on his own accord, he wouldn't have harmed us at all, and you have to understand that that viewpoint belongs to the majority of ghosts in the Ghost Zone."

"Vlad's right," Danny instantly agreed, nodding firmly as he looked across the table at Melody and Ryder. "I've met plenty of ghosts in the Ghost Zone that are actually pretty cool. A few even helped me out in the past when I really needed it."

The teen smiled a little as he thought of Frostbite, but dashed the expression away to say seriously, "It's just how you go about talking to them. Trust me. They aren't out to get you."

Ryder frowned as he stared back across the table at the two half-ghosts before letting his gaze drift over to Melody. He shrugged at her, silently asking for her opinion on the whole matter.

Melody let out a long, slow breath of defeat before asking blandly, "How do we do it? I mean, Ryder doesn't remember how he made friends with Charles 'cause he was so high on drugs at the time. Ryder and I don't know how to relate to the ghosts. They're creepy. What do we do? Do we just walk up to them, shake hands, and start talking?"

"For some, I'm sure that would work," Vlad answered, nodding thoughtfully. "For one, you can simply walk over to the groups of ghosts and observe them. You might discover some of their powers that way. Hmm. I'm not sure." Glancing down at Danny, Vlad asked, "What do you think, Daniel? You know more about dealing with friendly ghosts than I do."

"Well," the teen began, thoughtfully glancing towards the ceiling. "I mean, I guess it really depends on the ghost. I know that most ghosts have, like, something they're really into. Like Faze with his magic. As long as you're into magic too, or pretend to be, you're gonna get along great."

"So you're saying we should lie?" Ryder asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. The concept coming from Danny was pretty shocking.

"Don't think of it as lying," Danny answered quickly, flashing a small, embarrassed grin. "It's more like...polite conversation."

"Mmm. Polite conversation," Vlad said, stifling a chuckle as he glanced down at Danny. "I haven't heard that one before."

"Oh, this should be fun, then," Melody murmured in a sulk. "Now I get to go out and be all 'hospitable' to bunch of creepy ghosts like it's homework or something. Did I mention how much I adore your plans, Vlad?"

"Look, we're doing this to escape eventually," Vlad told her. "It takes time and effort. Don't think of it as work. If you can, enjoy yourself. Make it a game or a challenge. Whatever you wish. If anything, Miss Hart, this is an opportunity for you to study something new, so take it seriously."

Addressing everyone at the table, Vlad said, "Now, I want all of you to learn the names, powers, and favorite hobby of at least 5 ghosts this week. Does that sound feasible enough?"

"Sure thing, Professor Vlad," Ryder said with an unenthusiastic thumbs up. He propped his cheek on his other hand as he muttered, "Mel's right. It's like being in school all over again. I hated homework. At least English homework didn't try to kill me...well, not directly, of course."

Sighing, Vlad gave up on the two sullen thieves. They had gotten his point and were going to do their jobs, he was sure, and that was all that really mattered. If they didn't want to have great attitudes about it, that was their choice. As long as they did what they needed to do, Vlad was content.

Despite everyones' lack of motivation, the next day everyone went to work at making new friends with the multitude of ghosts on the other side of the room. At first, they were all unsure of themselves as they ventured into the crowd of apparitions, but after finding their first ghost to talk to and settling down into 'polite conversation', the unease soon died away.

By their third day, Vlad stumbled over a fortunate discovery.

The ghost that had piqued Vlad's interest happen to be one of the youngest and most recent additions to the ghosts at the museum. Unlike most of the ghosts there, he spent most of his time by himself, floating along on his back as he gazed upwards as if seeing vast wonders beyond imagination up there on the ceiling.

Although he was certainly much older than he appeared, the ghost looked to be around Melody's age or younger. His skin was a dull, gray color that matched the outfit of ripped jeans and sleeveless t-shirt that he wore. His blackish/green hair was fixed into spiky, flame-y clumps that seemed to continually be moving around as if there was actually wind blowing through the room.

The entire time Vlad observed him, the young ghost didn't say a word to anyone. He only interacted with his fellow ghosts by nodding or waving a vague hand in their general direction. He just seemed to be lost in his own little world, and he appeared to be perfectly happy in that world.

In fact, he was so happy about whatever imaginary planet he was living in, he hardly even noticed where his flight path was taking him. The teenage ghost bumped right into Vlad's chest, lifted up an arm, and peered over his shoulder at the man as he sent him a relaxed smile.

"Sorry 'bout that, dude," he apologized, lazily pushing away from the man in preparation to continue his flight. "If I'm flyin', I'm dyin', know what I'm sayin'?"

Vlad stepped away, brushing off his chest as he shot the ghost a confused look, saying slowly, "No. I have no clue what you're saying." Pressing his lips together, Vlad pushed away his current annoyance to talk to the ghost. "What is your name?" he asked casually.

"Ah, names, I'm not into names," the ghost replied, propping the back of his head on his crossed arms as he floated slowly through the air again. He smiled at the ceiling again and closed his eyes. "So overrated, man. We all just need to live, stop focusing on titles, y'know? Everything's about titles. Not my thing, human guy. Not my thing."

"Not your thing," Vlad repeated to himself with a sigh. With a terse smile, he said, "Got it."

_Great,_ Vlad thought blandly. _Of all the ghosts I meet, I have to bump into the pantheistic hippie teenager. Danny's bad luck must be rubbing off on me._

"Well, what is your power, then?" Vlad asked. "You must care about that if you're here."

"Nah, not really," the ghost answered, turning in the air to make a slow circle without even opening in his eyes. "The Curator's all into it, but I guess it's alright. Nice of you to ask, though, human dude."

Vlad tried his best not to glare at the ghost. His flippant behavior was rather annoying, but Vlad was a persistent one. He wasn't about to give up on his endeavor so easily.

"So what is your power?" he asked again, slipping his hands into his pockets in an attempt to look more casual for the lackadaisical ghost. "My friends and I are fairly new here. We don't know much about the ghosts, so it would be nice to know what your power does."

The teenage ghost simply let a smile breeze across his face. He didn't say anything as he continued to float backwards through the air. With his eyes still closed, the ghost didn't see the swirling, green portal that opened up behind his head. One moment, the ghost was in front of Vlad; the next, he'd disappeared through the portal.

For a moment, the ghost was nowhere to be found, but he quickly reappeared through another portal, this one blue, off to Vlad's right.

"Tada," the ghost said, smile widening as the portal he had come through disappeared with a soft, popping sound.

Blinking in surprise, Vlad's smile suddenly turned genuine. He had to force himself not to get too excited as he told the ghost pleasantly, "That's a very...interesting power you have there. How far can you project the portals, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not very far," the ghost answered blandly, drifting back and forth in front of Vlad with seemingly no focus at all. "I'm still new at it, I guess. I can only go to places I've seen before, too. It takes a lot of energy, human guy. So much easier to just fly there, y'know?"

He opened his eyes momentarily to look over at Vlad as he added, "Cool that you're so interested, dude. You must be really bored. You should fly with me sometime."

"Uh...thanks," Vlad said, not sounding enthused at all about the ghost's offer. "Anyways, can you create a portal that lets you leave the museum?"

The ghost was quiet as he thought about Vlad's question. After several, long moments, he eventually shrugged. "Maybe," he said, sounding thoughtful for the first time since they'd started talking. "I could get there or pretty close, at least. It's hard to tell. Like I said, I'm still a newbie, man."

"Well, maybe you should try," Vlad offered. "Wouldn't it be nice to know the extent of your powers?"

"Hmm," the ghost mused quietly to himself. Despite his laid-back demeanor, he was actually a pretty curious individual. The world around him always held some new mystery.

Without warning, the teenage ghost disappeared through a green portal. Before Vlad could even blink, he'd returned through a blue portal without even moving from his comfortable position. Smiling benignly, the ghost said, "Naw, didn't make it. Got close, though. Like right around the corner close."

Vlad let out a long, slow breath to remain composed. This was it. This was the ghost they had been searching for. Now all Vlad had to do was convince the ghost to create a portal for the others and him to go through. Vlad couldn't believe that he might be minutes away from escape and finally returning home after such a long and miserable nightmare.

"That's brilliant," Vlad said, nodding at the ghost encouragingly. "Tell me, can you send other people, like humans for example, through your portals?"

The ghost opened his eyes and looked at Vlad. It was his first time actually making eye contact with the half-ghost. His care-free expression had been replaced by wary concern, and he shook his head slowly. "No, human dude," he said seriously. "My portals aren't meant for your types. I could hurt you. I've never used it on human people before. It isn't safe."

Continuing to shake his head, the teen shut his eyes again and dropped back into his relaxed position as if trying to rid his mind of stressful thoughts. "I dunno what you're thinking, but stop it, dude."

Frowning, Vlad said persistently, "But I'm sure it is not as unstable as you believe it might be. I've created plenty of ghost portals in my time and have personally jumped through too many mysterious ones to count. Trust me. They're safe for the most part. You don't have to be so cautious."

"Yes, I do," the ghost answered adamantly. His relaxed smile had left his face only to be replaced by a bothered frown. "Unlike some ghost dudes here, _I_ don't enjoy hurting you humans," he continued, discomfort in his tone.

"Yes, well, we actually really appreciate that," Vlad said honestly, "but you could help us out if you created a portal for us near the exit of the museum. That is all I'm asking for. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"Look, human guy, it's not that simple," the ghost said, sitting up in the air. His expression had morphed again into a flustered looking scowl. He didn't particularly look angry at Vlad, just anxious about something that only he knew. "I want to help you out, you seem like a cool dude, but I can't, okay?"

Vlad knew the ghost was getting perturbed, but the man wanted to push just a bit farther on his own. He'd come this far. He wasn't about to be thwarted by one lone disagreement.

"I don't understand," Vlad admitted with a sigh. "Why won't you help us?"

The ghost's scowl quickly disappeared to be replaced by an upset frown. He looked highly saddened by what Vlad had said and the way he'd said it. He might have even looked a bit guilty as he glanced down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry," the teen said, honesty ringing in his tone. He raised his glowing eyes to meet Vlad's and added, giving the halfa a meaningful look, "If it was _my_ choice, human dude, I promise I'd try to help you."

Vlad's shoulders sagged in disappointment. It didn't take a genius to understand that the Collector had ordered the ghost not to use his powers for the humans. Vlad was afraid the Collector would do something like this, but he didn't think it would happen so soon. It seemed as if the Collector was getting smarter just like Danny had said. He was beginning to predict all their moves, even the ones they hadn't even thought of yet. Vlad rubbed his forehead, trying not to get frustrated.

"What's up?" Melody suddenly asked from the man's side.

Looking down at her, Vlad sighed as he said, pointing to the portal ghost still floating nearby, "I was just talking to...this ghost."

"Well, does he have a name?" Melody asked skeptically.

"Fred," the ghost interjected before either of the humans could comment. His eyes were focused solely on Melody now as a light smile came to his face. "My name's Fred." He dropped his feet down so they floated mere inches above the ground, leaning forward as if to see the girl better.

"Wow," Fred murmured, his smile growing. "You're the air vent girl, right? I love your hair."

Melody blinked in surprise, leaning a little bit away from the ghost who was encroaching a bit on her personal space as he stared at her in dreamy awe. She shot Vlad a quick glance, only to see that he was looking more flabbergasted than annoyed as he studied Fred.

"Uh...thanks?" Melody said, her hands automatically running through her short, cute pixie cut she had made for herself with the scissors Ryder had stolen for her. Though it had been about two weeks since all her hair had been chopped off, she still didn't feel comfortable in her new hairdo.

Glaring up at Vlad, Melody growled at him, "You told him about the air duct incident?"

"Oh, no, I just remembered is all," Fred quickly said, waving his hands back and forth. He chuckled a little and ran a hand through his flame-y hair before rubbing the back of his neck again. "I know it was a while ago, but that was when I first saw you..."

The ghost cleared his throat, still smiling as he said, "I, um, I gotta say you look a lot prettier when you're not stuck in a vent, vent girl."

"Let's certainly hope so," Melody said, putting her hands on her hips as her usual iciness returned to her eyes. "And my name is Melody. Not vent girl." She glanced again up at Vlad, instantly hating the calculating, sly smile on his face. "What?" she asked wearily. She knew that smile all too well by now, and it never meant something good was going to happen.

"One moment, Fred," Vlad told the ghost as he gently steered Melody away. "Let me have a short, private word with my friend, then she's all yours to talk to."

"No, I-. Wait-," Melody muttered as she was forced to follow Vlad a few paces away from Fred. She frowned when Vlad put his hands on her shoulders as if to keep her there. "What do you want, Vlad?" she growled in a huff. "I already made friends with another ghost today. I don't need to make friends with this one too."

"Yes, you do, actually," Vlad said. "Because this ghost makes portals that can transport people. He can make a portal that leads straight to the museum's exit. He wasn't willing to help us when I asked him, but that was because it was me. For you, though...well, my dear, that's a entirely different story."

"Oh. Oh, ho, ho," Melody said, her eyes narrowing on Vlad.

"Don't give me that look, Miss Hart. You know I'm right."

"No, no, no," Melody said, voice unnaturally sweet as she shot Vlad a vicious smile. "I'm not doing this."

"Not doing what, Ice Queen?" Ryder barged into the conversation as he appeared behind the pair with Danny in tow. Before they could reply, the thief proudly crossed his arms over his chest and declared, "That's three more ghost pals for me today! I'm on fire!"

Danny rolled his eyes at the man's tone before muttering, "I got two. We're not friends, but it works. I spent the whole time talking about water. I know, exciting stuff."

"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket, Danny," Ryder quipped, flashing a gigantic grin at the glaring ghost boy. Chuckling happily, he looked from Vlad to Melody before saying curiously, "What's going on?"

"You see-," Vlad started.

"Vlad wants me to go flirt with Fred the ghost over there so he can make some kind of trippy portal thing for us," Melody said to the group. "Whatever a portal is."

"I did not say you had to flirt," Vlad argued. "All you have to do is talk to him and convince him somehow to find a loophole in the Curator's order not to help us so that he can make a portal for us to escape through."

"You might not have said the actually word 'flirt', but that's exactly what you know I'll have to do," Melody snapped back. "And what the heck is this portal vortex thing you keep talking about? You talk as if I know what one is, but I don't. I don't know squat about ghosts or the Ghost Zone except for the fact that I don't want to flirt with the inhabitants because, quite frankly, that's beyond creepy."

Ryder and Danny shared a silent look before leaning to the side to stare over at the ghost that had been mentioned. Fred didn't hesitate to give them a nod of greeting before their eyes returned back to Vlad and Melody.

Smiling slightly, Danny said to Vlad, "You mean that ghost can make us a portal?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Melody. "Melody, you've gotta talk to him. Seriously, you have to talk to him. He can get us out of here!"

"But...wait, what's it do?" Ryder slowly interjected, looking confused.

Waving his hands rapidly, Danny explained, "It's just something that we have to go through that can teleport us. It's perfect. All you do is walk through it, and you end up in a completely different spot, no harm, no foul! We can get out of the museum before the Collector has time to do anything!"

Eyes widening as understanding hit him, Ryder turned on Melody as well, blurting, "Mel, you need to flirt. Flirt like our lives depend on it!"

"I...I'm 22 and en...and in a relationship!" Melody said in an indignant hiss so that no one but their group could hear, "I'm not going to degrade myself and act like a some...some airhead, pubescent, boy-obsessed 15-year-old girl to manipulate some creepy ghost boy with a gross crush on me. _Gawd!_ What is wrong with you people?"

"Melody," Vlad said calmly and quietly.

"_Whaaat?_" she answered hopelessly.

"We need this, Melody," Vlad told her with a grin. "You know we do, and the only way we can do it is with your help and cooperation. We know you're not some mindless teenager and that you don't act that way...sometimes. You're a smart, icy, young lady who we have all been forced to love. And I know that you're quick and talented enough to realize what you need to do and do it correctly. Now, this is the only time I'm going to say this: go flirt with Fred."

Melody pouted for an extra few seconds just to get it out of her system before she threw her hands in the air, saying in defeat, "You guys are all impossible pigs. All of you owe me one, you got that?"

Danny bobbed his head up and down in agreement, grinning widely from ear-to-ear. Ryder practically mimicked the boy as he held up a hand, four fingers raised. "Four. That's four I owe ya," he promised her with a wink. Dropping his hand, the man nudged Melody's arm as he said, "Now go on and woo 'im for us."

"Yeah, Melody, you can do it!" Danny quietly cheered her on. "Go get your flirt on."

Exploding with a resigned sigh, Melody messed with her hair to make sure it laid correctly, checked her breath, and smoothed out her shirt and shorts before looking back up at the group of boys. Slapping on a dazzling smile, she asked, "Alright, my treacherous friends. How do I look?"

Ryder draped each of his arms across Vlad and Danny's shoulders as he sniffed dramatically. "They grow up to flirt so fast, don't they?" he asked, making his voice sound shaky with emotion even though he was smiling like an idiot. He laughed softly before adding, "You look fantastic, by the way!"

"Exactly," Melody said before turning on her heel and sashaying her way back over to Fred, giving the ghost a little wave as she approached. _I can't believe I'm doing this_, she thought darkly.

Clasping her hands behind her back in a cute, curious fashion, Melody said to Fred with a sweet smile, "So Vlad tells me you can create portals, Fred. That's a pretty cool power." She played coy as she asked, "Can I see you make one now?"

"Uh...uh, yeah, sure!" Fred hastily agreed after his first few seconds of awed silence. He created a portal behind him, stepped backwards through it, and quickly reappeared in front of Melody as if he'd been there the whole time.

Once the portals had disappeared, the ghost smiled a little and asked, "So you said your name was Melody? That's really pretty. I, well, I don't wanna sound weird or anything 'cause you're a human type, and I'm not, and I guess I'm just a little rusty on this whole 'interaction' thing-"

Fred stopped himself, shook his head ruefully to calm down, and quietly said, "You don't want to be here, do you?"

Melody lost her smile at the question. She gave a shrug before nodding and saying with a sad smile, "No offense, Fred, but yes. I don't belong in this museum. I want to go home, but Vlad told me you weren't allowed to help us...so I'm not sure how you can do anything."

Flashing another flirty grin, Melody said as if the thought just came to her, "I was told there can be loopholes, though! I'm sure you're smart enough to figure one out, right?"

"I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than that, Melody," Fred told her after glancing down at the ground again and rubbing his neck. He let out a tight breath to give himself strength before raising his eyes to meet the girl's. "I _do_ want to help you. I really do. I understand that you don't want to be here. It's not right of the Curator to force you to be here. It ain't cool at all. Someone as..."

His grayish cheeks paled a little in embarrassment as he murmured, "...beautiful as you doesn't deserve to be hidden away in a place like this. But..."

Fred hesitated again, uncertainty spreading across his face. "I- there's something I want to tell you, but if I do it...it won't end well for me. Do you pick up what I'm laying down, Melody?"

"Yeah," Melody said, nodding in partial understanding. "I'm picking it up, I think. It's like a secret, right? Although...I don't see how you can get in trouble for telling me anything." She pulled another smile as she forcefully joked and giggled, "It's not like I'm some gossip girl."

Fred gave her a baffled look in return. "I know that," he replied quietly, scuffing his bare feet against the floor as he dropped his gaze.

"You don't have to pretend to like me, Melody," the ghost suddenly said as he lifted his gaze up from his feet. His smile was somber but understanding. He nodded his head back towards the boys as he elaborated with a self-conscious shrug, "I kinda could hear what you guys were saying. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I promise."

He took a breath to steady himself again before looking Melody right in the eye. "You were the first person I saw when I came here. And I, um, I kinda started watching you and your friends from time to time when I got really bored because you were so pretty..." Fred's smile only seemed to become more embarrassed as he said, "You don't giggle a lot. And I...I like that about you."

_Ooookay_, Melody thought, trying not to make a disgusted face. _That's creepy. It's nice...but still totally creepy._

"Uh...thanks," Melody said after a short pause. She thought for another moment before sighing and saying seriously, "Look, I'll just be frank with you, Fred. You're a nice kid...er ghost...ghost kid? Whatever. You know what I mean. Really, all my friends and I want is to use your ability to create those portal things, but we don't want to be pushy about it. We're not like the Collector. We're not going to force anything out of you. But...it would be nice if you tried."

Fred's face remained impassive even though he was beaming on the inside. Melody had said he was nice! That was so much more than he could've ever asked for. He'd been so nervous about meeting her since he'd first seen her, but she was just as perfect in person as she was from far away.

And she was asking for his help. Well, there was no way in hell he was gonna let her down. No matter the consequences to himself.

Drawing himself up to his full height, Fred nodded once and said firmly, "I can do that. I won't let you down, Melody. I can get you out of here. I promise."

"Ohmygosh, you will?" Melody said in a rush, too shocked at first to really react. Then a giant smile consumed her face as she gave a bounce of excitement. "Oh, thank you, Fred! This is awesome!" Calming back down, she told the ghost with a smile, "You're really sweet, you know that? A lot nicer and smarter than a lot of the other ghosts in here. And I actually mean that."

Melody waved the others to come over and join her. As they approached, she told them, "Fred has agreed to help us. You sure this will work?"

"I've been working with portals for most of my life," Vlad assured the girl. "I'm positive it will work."

Fred lowered his head, his cheeks flushing red as he kicked at the floor again. Ryder grinned widely at the boy's response, and he nudged Melody, saying slyly, "Look at you go, Missy."

"Thanks so much, Fred!" Danny blurted before Melody could reply. He smiled thankfully up at the ghost, shifting from foot-to-foot out of excitement. He couldn't believe it. They were finally going to get out of there. After months of struggling and fighting, they were finally gonna be free again.

The ghost glanced down at Danny and smiled back at the boy before he took several steps back from the group. "Give me a sec," he murmured, raising a hand to rub his chin. "The Curator said I couldn't make a portal for you guys...but he didn't say anything about one for me. And what if you guys _accidentally_ jumped through one of my portals? Y'know, on accident."

Fred winked conspiratorially at the group before he looked over his shoulder. When he turned back to face them, his expression was serious. "We gotta do this quick, okay?" he told them, keeping his voice low. "When I make the portal, you guys are gonna haveta jump through real fast. Don't hesitate. I think they're watching us. So go quickly, got it?"

Vlad nodded like the others. "We understand," he told Fred with a thankful smile. Vlad couldn't help it as his heart started to race. After so many rotten plans, he almost couldn't believe this one was working out so well. He tried to predict what could go wrong, but the man was coming up short with ideas. As much as Vlad wanted to be skeptical, he really believed they were going to make it this time.

Addressing the others, Vlad said, "We'll have to jump through quickly like Fred said. When we come out the other side, you two might be a bit disoriented because it will be your first time. Don't worry. Danny and I will know what to do, so take our lead. Everyone ready?"

Once receiving more nods and excited smiles, Vlad turned to Fred and told him, "Get us as close as you can to the exit." That said, the group lined up and positioned themselves at the ready.

"Right," Fred agreed, closing his eyes in concentration. This was his first time he'd ever made a portal meant for someone other than himself. He had to make sure everything went perfect for the humans. He wanted them to get out of this place more than anything.

When the teenage ghost opened his eyes again, they flared bright with gray energy. He raised his hand and slashed it down through the air, creating a large, green portal in front of his palm. This portal seemed to thrum with strength, and the swirling energy spun faster than ever before. Not stopping to admire it, Fred threw himself forward, yelling over his shoulder, "C'mon!"

Without hesitation, the humans charged through the portal after Fred. After a frightening moment of disorientation, the group of humans found themselves standing in the middle of a hallway none of them had seen before. Fred floated in front of the humans, and he hastily pointed to the right, saying quickly, "That way, guys! Go! The exit's right around the corner! Hurry!"

"Thank you, Fred," Vlad said quickly before leading the dash toward the exit. He made sure everyone was with him as they sprinted down the empty hallway, hope swelling in all their hearts by now. This was the closest they had ever gotten, and all of them knew it.

A/N: Well, they're getting closer to escaping! I'll tell you readers that much. Anyways, next chapter will be on Monday or so. I'll see you readers then!


	24. Chapter 24 Crossing the Line

A/N: Well, I'm a bit late with the update, so I hope you'll forgive me. Not much to say but to enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Danny and Vlad are officially ex-enemies and on their way to being friends. Vlad devised a plan to get to know all the ghosts in the museum to see if they would help them escape, which everyone reluctantly accepted to do. Eventually they bumped into Fred, a portal making ghost who Melody had to flirt with to get him to create a portal to the exit of the museum for everyone. The group is now officially on their way to the museum's exit! Will escape really be this easy? Probably not for our unlucky group of humans.

Chapter 24 Crossing the Line

As they skidded around the corner, the group rushed into the large, vacant welcome and exit center of the museum designed specifically for guests. The floor was perfectly polished granite, impressive pillars lined along the sides of the room, and the domed ceiling held an eclectic taste of multiple dangling objects both ghostly and human. A long wooden reception desk stood on the side, empty and deserted at the moment because the museum had long been closed down for the night. At the far end of the room were three sets of large double doors.

The four humans ran straight for the doors. Vlad tried to push them open, but it was obvious the doors were locked. He tried to phase through them, but that didn't work either. Swearing under his breath, Vlad backed up from the door, thinking furiously. In seconds, he had a solution.

"Danny, we're going to kick the doors open," he told the teen. Positioning himself, he asked, "Ready? On my mark. One, two, three!"

With simultaneous shouts of exertion, both half-ghosts slammed their feet into the weak spot of the doors, flinging them open with a loud, cracking sound. Green, ghostly light immediately assaulted the eyes of the group as they ran through the broken doorway and out into freedom.

Or so they thought.

The moment the group of humans moved to pound down the marble steps of the museum, they raised their eyes to look around at their prison from the outside and froze in place. The excitement and enthusiasm they'd all been experiencing came to a dead, screeching halt when they saw that their journey was far from over.

Surrounding the entire museum and even the floating chunk of rock that was its base, was a humming, green ghost shield. Vlad and Danny's eyes widened in horror as they both realized their mistake. To get off this rock and out of the Ghost Zone, they would have to fly as ghosts. But they couldn't do that with the shield up. Just as they'd feared, the Collector was still several steps ahead of them.

"No," Danny whispered, shaking his head slowly as he stared at the shield. "No, no, no."

"What the hell is that?" Melody whispered, her face fully showing her worry at seeing Danny's reaction. Even without her knowledge, she could assume it wasn't something that was going to help them escape.

"A ghost shield," Vlad answered quickly as he suddenly picked up the pace again. "Come on!" he shouted over his shoulder at the others as he rushed down the extensive set of stairs. "It might be a shield only to keep others out and not in. We still have a chance." But even as he said these words, Vlad knew they were very far from being true. Nevertheless, it wasn't like him to give up, not when they were this close.

Soon the group arrived at the boarder of the floating rock base closest to the ghost shield surrounding it. Panting a little from their recent run, Vlad thought aloud as he strained an outstretched hand to touch to the shield, "Maybe in our human forms we could jump through the shield, and then we can turn ghost while we-."

_ZAP!_

With a short cry of pain, Vlad was thrown backwards as if an invisible bus had slammed into him just as his fingers had brushed up against the shield. The man landed heavily on his back and skidded to a halt. Breathing hard and eyes wide with fear, Vlad slowly propped himself up with his palms and choked out, "It's a...it's a ghost and human shield. There's no way to get through it."

"Of course there isn't!"

Eyes widening in horror, the humans spun around to face where the booming, unpleasant voice of the Collector had come from. It terrified all of them to see that the ghost's form had grown with his heightened rage. He easily towered over all of them, seemingly standing as tall as any skyscraper any of them had ever seen.

Shadows licked at the edges of his gigantic wavering form, and his eyes blazed in a deathly white glow. His legs had been swallowed up by darkness, and he appeared to slither towards the group, hands clenched into fists. His voice boomed around the area as if speakers had been set up just for the occasion.

"So you finally did it? You finally 'escaped', did you? Well, how does it feel, humans? How does it feel to see that what I have been saying all along is true? How does it feel to realize you are never leaving my museum? How does it feel to fail yet AGAIN?"

The humans flinched when the Collector's voice rose to a thundering shout that seemed to shake them all to their very core. Ryder stood slightly in front of Melody, blocking her from the ghost's vicious wrath with his body while Danny, who had gone to Vlad's side, instantly pulled the man to his feet to get away from the approaching Collector.

"_On your knees. All of you! Now_!" the Collector bellowed with very little regard to the humans' ears. With no consent for their knees, the group dropped to the ground, sharing anxious glances with each other as they realized the deep trouble they were in.

Glancing down the line of humans beside him, Vlad was filled with dread and despair. He knew that all of them were going to be punished. His eyes paused on Danny, fear clenching his stomach into a twisted knot of guilt and unease. The boy was just getting over his injuries from the last punishment and brutal encounter with Vlad. He wasn't ready for another and such a severe beating. Vlad grimaced just thinking of what was in store for all of them before he returned his distressed stare back on the Collector.

Shaking with his elevated levels of fury, the Collector glared down at each human individually. He was too far past the point of coherency to enjoy the looks of fear on each of their faces. Flashing a cruel smirk that didn't hold a trace of enjoyment, the ghost snarled, "You'll be happy to know, Mr. Masters, it is your very own technology that has foiled your pathetic escape attempt this time around. Aren't you just brilliant?"

Eyes snapping away from Vlad's face, the Collector focused on the boy next to him. Danny quickly lowered his gaze, shoulders trembling slightly. He could just feel the ghost's glower raining down on him. It terrified him to have no idea what was going to happen to them.

"I should've known that treacherous boy could not be trusted," the Collector murmured to himself, continuing to scowl down at Danny for no particular reason. "Well, do not worry about that. I will be sure to put him in his place. Yes, I'll punish him as well. Just like these four."

"What...what're you gonna do to Fred?" Danny whispered, raising his gaze to stare at the Collector. He was definitely scared out of his mind, but his glare remained steady as he looked into the ghost's eyes.

"Do not worry for him," the Collector spat, a disgusted sneer making its way to his expression. "Worry for yourself, boy." The ghost paused as a true, vile smile slid to his face. He leaned forward just a tad, lowering his voice to a hiss, "Or should I say...your family?"

"You can't...you can't just threatened people who aren't even involved!" Melody said from the very end of the line, her shaky shout clearly pointing out her alarm. Overwhelmed by her fear, she lowered her head and said, voice loud but wavering, "And it wasn't...wasn't Fred's fault. I convinced him to help us. He didn't do anything wrong."

Letting out a slow, dark laugh, the Collector shook his head and moved to stand in front of Melody. He reached out and lifted her chin up with a forefinger, whispering mockingly, "What is your fascination with saying that I _can't_ do things?"

Although she was beyond terrified, Melody quickly and almost instinctively leaned backwards to get away from the Collector's icy touch, coming very close to batting his hand away. "It's just not moral," she squeaked out, shying away from the ghost. She knew he would mock her for such a horrible response, but it was the only one she had.

"Coming from a moral compass such as yourself..." the Collector's smile grew nasty as he pleasantly finished, "I'll take that as a compliment, Miss Hart."

"You know what I meant," the girl spat back under her breath.

"Perhaps," the ghost languidly answered, leaning back up to his full height as his eyes drifted back over to Danny. The boy had gone rigid with horror, his wide, frightened eyes locked on the Collector's every move. These reactions were only beginning to amuse the ghost, and he showed his amusement by tilting his head back and chuckling darkly.

"You see, Miss Hart, if anything, what I plan to do to your loved ones...or, more correctly, loved _one_ is not only moral, but intelligent, as well," the Collector explained once he'd calmed himself long enough to speak. "It is moral because your pitiful little boyfriend is completely miserable without you."

He smirked, raising a fine eyebrow as he murmured into Melody's shocked face, "Yes, I have seen him. I have visited him once or twice just to see how close I can get...just to see how _easy_ it would be to snap his neck-"

"Shut up!" Ryder yelled at the Collector, his shoulders trembling with fear and loathing. He couldn't take listening to it anymore. The threats to Melody's boyfriend were making him sick to his stomach. "Just shut up, shut up."

"Oh, Mr. Walker," the Collector tutted, shaking his head as if in lament over his terrible actions. "Do you despise hearing the truth?" He approached the thief this time, speaking softly as he said, "Or, perhaps, you already know where else I have been on my travels to the human world."

Voice shaking horribly, Ryder hissed, "S-shut up."

Ignoring the man's request, the Collector unmercifully continued, "Your son is quite young, isn't he? And, oh, how so defenseless."

"Don't," Vlad said suddenly, voice firm and commanding. He couldn't stand hearing Jet get threatened. He knew it had to be tearing Ryder apart. "Don't-," he said again, but he couldn't finish because he hadn't even realized he had said anything until his anger towards the Collector suddenly died away and was replaced yet again by fear. The man swallowed before bracing himself.

Snapping his head in Vlad's direction, the ghost's eyes flashed with dark intent. He'd been waiting for Vlad to speak up. It more than delighted the Collector that it had taken this long for the man to build up the courage to even say one word to him.

The ghost floated down the line of humans, savoring every flinch he got from the ones he passed, until he reached Vlad. Kneeling down slightly, the Collector grabbed Vlad's jaw in one hand, tilting his head back so that he could look directly into his eyes.

"Don't..._what_?" the Collector questioned softly, his voice filled with pure disdain. "Speak up now, Mr. Masters."

Vlad was silent for a moment, chills rolling down his spine, before he said evenly up at the Collector, "Don't threaten Mr. Walker's boy."

The Collector smiled in response, tightening his grip on Vlad's jaw as he murmured in agreement, "Alright." He paused long enough to build suspense before he lowered his voice to say, "I suppose you would prefer if I threatened someone else then? Oh, say...your uncle? It wouldn't take long to find him, Mr. Masters, I assure you. With the power I have at my disposal, I could be at his home in minutes. And do you know what I would do to him? Go on...guess. Our minds are so very alike."

Gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, and narrowing his eyes on the Collector, Vlad used all his might not to respond out of anger. He knew the threat had been coming, but he hadn't been ready for the powerful emotions that swelled up inside him. Several seconds passed as Vlad fought to control himself. Finally, he responded emotionlessly, "You would kill him."

Chuckling, the Collector slowly released Vlad's chin and patted his cheek as if congratulating him for his answer. "Yes," he agreed, smiling wickedly back at the half-ghost. "Yes, I would." Straightening up, the ghost surveyed all of the humans again as he said bluntly, "None of your loved ones concern me. I am not interested in them."

The ghost saw Danny lower his head further than before, shoulders tensed, hands coiled into fists. Ryder didn't look much better, but he was staring right back at the Collector, terror obvious in his wide, blue eyes.

Feeling empowered by their fear, the Collector said darkly, "I will not hesitate to destroy every last one of them if you push me." He looked at Danny as he hissed, "Your mother and father. Or perhaps your sister if it strikes my fancy." Gaze drifting to Melody and Ryder, he smirked and said, "And...well, we already know who will die, now don't we?"

Facing the entire group, the ghost stated, "The next escape attempt will be met with the death of a loved one of my choosing." Leveling his stare on Vlad, he muttered, "If you believe I am joking, I can promise that you are sorely mistaken."

Vlad glared back at the Collector, but it wasn't a very strong one. The glower's weakness was due to the fact that Vlad was feeling too scared. As much as he hated to admit it, he was terrified about the coming punishment for everyone. Not only that, but his grip on hope was waning from the strain. In the end, though, all he could do was glare.

"Well." The Collector clasped his hands in front of his body, his smile turning downright cheerful at receiving no responses other than despairing looks. "Now that the unpleasantries are out of the way, we will move on to more...present matters. Why, your punishments, of course."

"Cheeky b-bastard," Ryder muttered under his breath, voice wavering from fear. He didn't know why he felt the need to say that, or curse, for that matter, but he just had to. The monster had threatened his son. That could never be excused in his mind.

"Mr. Walker!" the ghost declared, graciously waving a hand at the thief. "Thank you for volunteering first." Eyes narrowing, the Collector focused solely on Ryder as he ordered, "_Sleep_."

Without warning, Ryder's eyes rolled back into his head as his eyelids snapped shut. His limp body fell to the side, hitting the floor with a soft, _thud_ sound that forced Danny to flinch and turn his head away.

"Cursing was unnecessary, wouldn't you agree?" the Collector chuckled. "Now who would like to guess his punishment? Hm? I know you all must be dreadfully curious."

Once again, nobody responded. In this case, silence was the humans' best and only defense.

As she remained quiet, Melody stared down at Ryder's sleeping form, pressing her lips together to keep in her emotions. At that moment, she certainly wanted to cry, but she remained composed by closing her eyes and letting out a shuddering breath.

Shaking his head, the Collector told the remaining three mockingly, "Simply because you are about to be punished for your actions, does not mean you should lose your sense of humor. Although...I must be honest. I would love to see each and every one of you in tears."

The ghost chuckled at the cheery thought before saying, "Mr. Walker will be spending the next few days in solitary confinement. I do know how much he loves the dark _and_ small spaces. I'm sure he will find his accommodations more than satisfactory."

The Collector turned his sights on Melody next, waving a hand across her face as he murmured, "_Sleep_." Just like Ryder before her, the girl's eyes shut as she dropped like a rock to the floor. Glancing over at the halfas, the ghost asked with a raised eyebrow, "Boys? Any guesses?"

Danny kept his eyes screwed tightly shut to avoid having to look at the limp bodies of his friends. There was just something terrifying about seeing them so still. Instead of answering, Danny leaned over and buried his face in Vlad's arm in a pathetic attempt to escape the nightmare he'd found himself in.

Vlad's stare lingered on Danny as sympathy plucked at his heart before his tired gaze returned to the Collector. "Just get on with it," he muttered half-heartedly to the ghost. He was sick of all the twisted suspense, although he knew very soon he would wish to go back to such prolonging once his punishment was being carried out.

Smirking at the halfas, the Collector dutifully explained, "I believe you remember the hot room I had you four spend the night in. One of you called it a 'hot box,' if I remember correctly. Well, this will be Miss Hart's residence until I deem fit. I'm sure she'll enjoy the change in temperature just fine."

The ghost grinned and motioned over his shoulder for the group of ghost guards waiting at the entrance of the museum to approach and take away the humans. As they did so, with little regard to Melody and Ryder's comfort, the Collector looked down on Vlad and Danny.

"Well, now, that just leaves you two, doesn't it?" he said, hands on his hips as his shadowy form slowly returned to normal. The ghost couldn't help but smile at the pitiful state of the boy. It was downright amusing. "I assume you have already figured out what I have in mind for you two."

The Collector lowered his head a little closer to the pair as he murmured, "For his sake, I certainly hope Mr. Fenton's injuries have healed. If not...well, I don't think this fight is going to last very long."

At hearing this, Danny tensed up further and grabbed onto Vlad's sleeve as he bit down on a sob of protest. He couldn't believe this was going to happen to him again. He wasn't ready to be beaten again. He was still so incredibly weak from the first round. He just couldn't do it again.

In his only attempt to console the frightened teen, Vlad wrapped his arm the boy clung to around Danny's shoulders. When he gave one of Danny's shoulders a reassuring squeeze, the action was designed to give himself and the boy some solace. It didn't do much. Nothing could.

Turning his eyes back toward the Collector, Vlad was briefly tempted to plead with the ghost for some more time before implementing the punishment. It was obvious Danny wasn't ready for another beating, neither physically nor mentally. Vlad couldn't stand to put him through it once more and so soon, but he knew that no words or actions could twist or wiggle him out of the mess he was in. He was completely and utterly powerless, and both Vlad and the Collector knew this simply by the disheartened, hopeless stare Vlad gave the ghost.

"That's right," the Collector murmured, his voice oozing with dark enjoyment. He loved that neither half-ghost even attempted to bargain with him. He loved the fear that was so obviously being shown in front of him. To the ghost, fear had begun to equal respect. "I think you're finally starting to understand."

Leaning back upright, the Collector lifted a hand as he said, "_Stand up_." As the two halfas unwilling rose back to their feet, the ghost stepped between them and unsympathetically pulled them apart so that he held each one by a shoulder. Smiling down at their distraught faces, he started walking them straight back to the prison they'd been trying so desperately to escape from.

"This is your home now, boys," the Collector chuckled under his breath as he admired his wondrous museum from the outside. If possible, it only seemed to be more intimidating and powerful looking from this angle. Smile widening, the ghost said, "This is where you belong."

Vlad cringed as his only response to the little dig into their freedom-centered hopes. Looking up at the building looming up ahead of him, Vlad realized this was probably his one and only chance to see how the structure looked on the outside. Quickly pushing his fears and tormenting visions of the future to the back of his head, the man focused in on speedily memorizing the building. His eyes took in every detail his gaze could find, storing everything meticulously and hastily into his head. It was haphazard work, but Vlad made sure it was thorough.

As Vlad did this, Danny miserably looked up from his feet and glanced over at the man. He knew the instant he saw Vlad's face something was going on. He was either plotting or thinking...or both. Vlad was pretty good at multitasking. For some reason, seeing this gave Danny back a little bit of hope that had been squashed due to the Collector's terrifying threats and punishments for them.

Even after everything that had happened to them, Vlad still found a way to fight back in his own small way. Gaze rising to find the Collector's eyes, Danny's face morphed into a firm frown. If Vlad could fight in his own way, then so could Danny. He was already about to get the crud beat out of him. What else was there left to lose?

"Last I checked," Danny muttered, his eyes narrowing aggressively up at the ghost. "You don't get tortured in your home."

Vlad's eyes widened when he heard Danny say this just as they were climbing back up the stairs to the museum. The man almost stumbled over a step as he quickly looked back over the to the audacious teen, his expression a mixture of apprehension, astonishment, and a little tragic amusement. Cautiously, Vlad and Danny prepared themselves for the Collector's response.

The Collector simply gave the boy a smoldering glare before his expression twisted into an amused grin. He chuckled softly and shook his head. Leaning down, he lazily told the boy, "We'll see how sharp your tongue is after your punishment, Mr. Fenton. You do remember your last visit to the Infirmary, I hope."

Although Danny's shoulders tensed up at the memory of his torture, he refused to stop glaring at the ghost. He wasn't afraid of the Collector...he was afraid of what he could do. "You don't scare me," the teen slowly muttered back, his blue eyes cold as ice.

The Collector stared silently back at the boy for several moments as he tightened his grip on both halfas shoulders. "We'll see about that," he replied, fury rumbling in his voice as he straightened back up, pushing the two towards his very own personal torture chamber.

Stumbling from the fast pace he was being forced to walk at, Danny looked over at Vlad and gave him a sad half smile. No matter what happened to them, Danny wanted Vlad to know that he wasn't ever going to give up.

Vlad returned the smile. Although it didn't do a lot to soothe his fears, there was simply something uplifting to see the teen behaving like the stubborn, obnoxious fighter he usually was, especially when it made the Collector peeved. And from the look on the ghost's face and their rushed pace, Vlad could tell Danny had won a small, little battle with the Curator. It only made the grin Vlad sent Danny grow.

Danny's own smile widened a bit at seeing Vlad's reaction. It was much easier to be a smart aleck when you had someone cheering you on. And that was just what Vlad's smile had done for Danny. It helped to give him back more of the forgotten strength he felt he'd lost somewhere along the hard road of the past few weeks.

The boy knew that pain was coming in his future, a lot of pain, but he needed this moment. He needed a moment to be the cheeky superhero that he was deep down. The Collector could never take that away from him completely.

"Hey, maybe you'll finally be able to knock some sense into my thick head, huh, Vlad?" Danny asked with sarcastic curiosity.

"Mmm. I'm not sure if that's possible," Vlad said, flaunting a smirk. "I've given you however many concussions now, and you somehow still remain the same insolent child we've all been forced to know and love today. I don't think another elbow to the head is going to fix that problem, I'm afraid."

"Oh, you're probably right," Danny agreed, grinning back at Vlad. "I bet I'm just losing my math skills or something with each new concussion. Oh...wait a minute," the teen paused before adding with a laugh, "I never had those in the first place. Guess I'm losing my ability to respect people who don't deserve it then. What a shame."

"Such a shame," Vlad agreed with a knowing nod. He shot the boy a challenging look as he snarkily added, "What is even more of a shame is the fact that your skill for atrocious puns has never diminished despite all my attempts to knock it out of you."

Accepting Vlad's challenge without pause, Danny shot back with a wide smirk, "Hey, don't _knock_ puns till you try them, Vlad."

Despite the punishment hanging over his head, Vlad actually laughed. "Now you're just being ridiculous," he jokingly accused the teen.

"Someone's gotta be," Danny replied, laughing himself at the insanity of their situation. Here he was, joking and laughing with Vlad, his ex-worst enemy, right when he was about to get the crap beat out of him, and then, most likely, tortured afterwards. The situation really couldn't get any weirder.

Having had enough of their bantering, the Collector roughly grabbed the back of Danny's collar and gave him a rough shake, snarling under his breath for the boy to be silent. The ghost didn't understand. He couldn't understand how the humans were able to laugh. He knew they were frightened. The Collector knew it without question...and, yet, they were still able to mock him.

Infuriated by the halfas' actions, the Collector increased his speedy pace and arrived at the room from before within moments. He dragged Vlad and Danny inside before focusing solely on Vlad as he ordered in a low murmur, "_You will draw this out for as long as possible_." Turning his glare on the teenager, the ghost added, "We will see who is laughing in the end, boy."

The Collector's command pulled the sardonic smirk right off the Vlad's face, sobering the situation once again. He let out a long, slow sigh, readying himself for what he knew was ahead. No matter how hard they tried to paint it with their fun bantering, at the end of the day Vlad knew he was going to beat up the innocent teenager.

Much like Vlad, Danny's smile disappeared to be replaced by a steady frown. He probably wasn't as scared as he should've been, but he definitely felt shaky. He knew he couldn't win this fight, just like he knew he wouldn't win the last one. All he could do was try to protect his weak spots as best he could.

"Probably still gonna be you," the teen spat back at the Collector, struggling instinctively to pull himself from the ghost's grasp. "But, then again, you probably think a puppy with a broken leg is hilarious."

The Collector glared coldly back at the boy as he slowly released both him and Vlad. "_Ghost forms_," he rumbled. As the pair were forced to change into their ghost halves, the Collector spun on his heel and stalked from the room, calling over his shoulder just before he shut the door, "_Attack, Mr. Masters_."

As soon as the order was given, Vlad felt his body react. He paused for a second in resistance before thrusting both is palms out at Danny, shooting a quick yet half-heated ectoplasm ray at him.

Unlike last time, Danny didn't have time to get away from Vlad. However, his instincts were quick enough for him to react in time to spin to the side and create a quick shield that took the brunt of the ecto-blast. The shield had been hastily made and disappeared as rapidly as he'd made it, but it was enough to block the attack.

Instead of running, the teen moved forward and slung a roundhouse punch at Vlad's chin.

Despite his surprise by Danny's bold attack, Vlad's body was on autopilot as he caught the boy's wrist, stepped forward, and grabbed a handful of the front of Danny's jumpsuit with his other hand. "Brace yourself," Vlad told the unfortunate teen with a grim smile before easily lifting Danny up and over his head. With a short grunt, Vlad brought Danny back down and slammed him against the floor.

The blow seemed to drive every bit of breath from Danny's lungs. He literally couldn't breathe at all as he instinctively twisted around onto his side and grabbed hold of both of Vlad's ankles. Desperately, Danny used his ice powers to freeze the man's feet to the floor before he pushed himself backwards away from Vlad, choking on the sweet taste of oxygen as he was finally able to breathe again.

Frowning as he looked down at his frozen feet that tingled from the extreme cold, Vlad mumbled, "I forgot how vexing those ice powers of yours are." Acting swiftly so as to prevent his feet from going completely numb, Vlad heated the ice incasing his feet with well aimed ectoplasm rays.

"This isn't going to keep me here much longer," Vlad told Danny as he worked at freeing himself. "Are you ready?"

Danny gave Vlad a weak thumbs up as he pulled himself back to his feet. Unfortunately, he hadn't exactly braced himself like Vlad had told him to. The teen rubbed his aching wrist, glancing down at it momentarily as his breathing finally returned to normal.

Although the last thing he felt like doing right now was joking, Danny couldn't help but flash Vlad a tired grin and say, "Chill out, Vlad."

Looking up as he finally freed himself, Vlad gave Danny a bemused expression before shaking his head. Rushing forward with fist cocked back for a punch, Vlad declared teasingly, "For that horrible pun, maybe you do deserve this."

Danny kept the tired smile on his face even as he winked out of visibility to avoid Vlad's intended attack. Not giving Vlad time to react, the teen flew swiftly to the side and fired twin shots of ectoplasm at the man's back while remaining invisible.

Vlad stumbled forward with a wince, raising his arms over his head to protect it. Lowering his arms, the man swiftly looked around the room in search for the teen once the attack was over. Vlad's forehead creased slightly when he realized Danny must have turned invisible to evade another attack. With some surprise, Vlad felt his body relax as the spell in his mind was momentarily lifted.

Looking calmly out around the room, Vlad smirked a little as he muttered to himself, "You can't attack anything when there isn't anything to be seen."

"Oh, man, Vlad," Danny whispered when he heard the man's words. His hopes rose to the ceiling as an excited grin bloomed to his hidden face. "Maybe we just found a way to-"

"_Mr. Fenton_," the Collector's voice boomed around the room from what the teen could only assume was an intercom. "_Return to invisibility and remain that way_. It isn't enjoyable for anyone if we can't see your beating, now is it?"

"-crap," Danny finished, wincing as the ghost's power instantly forced him back into sight. The worst thing was, he wouldn't be able to turn invisible again. It was as if his arsenal of powers had just been depleted by one. That wasn't a good feeling in the least.

As soon as Danny turned visible, Vlad braced himself for his body to act without his consent, but that moment never came. Somehow, when Danny had turned invisible, he had negated the command for Vlad to attack. Brain switching into overdrive because of his miraculous opportunity, Vlad conceived a risky plan to get Danny out of as much pain as possible.

Acting before he could talk himself out of it, Vlad shot out a hand and grabbed Danny by the forearm. Swiftly, Vlad brought the teen close up against his chest, wrapping his other arm around Danny's neck. Instantly, Danny's air supply was cut off.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to make you pass out, Danny," Vlad whispered hastily into the boy's ear. "You should be out for only a few minutes, but I want you to fake unconsciousness when you come to. Maybe the Curator won't know the difference."

"N-no, Vla-" Danny choked out instantly, grabbing at the man's arm that was steadily crushing his windpipe. It was extremely hard to think under these conditions, but he understood enough to know that this was a bad idea. He wasn't sure how Vlad had broken the Collector's spell, but he knew this wasn't going to end well.

If the Collector figured it out, who knew what he would do to the both of them?

Straining desperately to pull Vlad's arm away from his throat, Danny tried to get Vlad to let him go so that he could fight. His voice wouldn't work, though. His eyesight was going dark as his lungs demanded air immediately, but he continued to try and plead his case.

For a split second, Vlad was indecisive. He really wanted his plan to work, but it was clear by all of Danny's struggling that he didn't think it would. Vlad couldn't tell if it was fear or something else that made Danny protest so strongly, but it was rather disheartening. Squeezing his eyes shut, Vlad wished he had more time to think. When it all came down to the wire, Vlad's problem was a choice between his trust in his own judgement or Danny's.

Swearing under his breath, Vlad let up on his hold around Danny's neck so the teen could breathe. Holding him there, the man asked in a whisper, "We don't have time, Danny. We need a plan. What do you suggest I do?"

Gasping violently for the second time since the fight had begun, Danny fought to regain coherency long enough to speak. The teen had learned that it was really hard to think when you couldn't breathe. His eyesight had barely begun to return before he panted out, "L-let me...blast you with-with the wail. One...one of us will...have to p-pass out. Hope-hopefully it's you."

Danny knew that this wasn't one of his best plans, but it was the only one he could think of on the spot. If he could knock Vlad out quickly and relatively painlessly, then the fight couldn't continue.

"Do it," Vlad said, shoving Danny roughly away so the Collector wouldn't get suspicious. He let his ghostly energy flow into his hands and acted like he was trying to resist the Collector's command to attack as he faced Danny and said, "Give me everything you've got. Don't hold back."

Still extremely lightheaded from his brush with unconsciousness, Danny unsteadily turned back around to face Vlad. His chest rose and fell heavily, and his green eyes were dull even as they shone with grim determination. He didn't want to hurt Vlad, but, by doing so, he was actually helping the man. And that was all that he wanted to do. He'd do whatever he could to save Vlad from pain...even if that meant causing it.

Sucking in the deepest breath he could manage, the teen planted his feet firmly against the ground and unleashed the most powerful ghostly wail he could muster at the moment. It wasn't as strong as his usual ones, but he was close enough to Vlad that it probably didn't even matter.

Vlad didn't try to resist the wail as it slammed forcibly into him. Like usual when faced with the teen's wail, it felt like a concrete wall was being slammed mercilessly into him. With a yelp, the man was picked right up off his feet, soared across the room, and flung into the wall. The jarring impact made Vlad's head spin and ears ring, and the man could only groan in pain as the wail kept him pinned there to the wall as if he was some dead butterfly affixed to a display. All too soon, Vlad couldn't breathe. In a way, the wail was worst than being sprayed with Roy's water powers. It sucked all the energy out of Vlad.

In only a few seconds, Vlad lost his ability to keep his ghost form as his sight swirled and his mind blurred. Transforming back into human form, Vlad was instantly knocked unconscious, and he welcomed the darkness with open arms. He could only hope Danny wouldn't be in too much trouble for what they had done.

The instant Danny saw Vlad transform back into his human half, his stamina gave out like a poorly constructed house of cards. He dropped to his knees, the wail dying in his chest as he returned to human form as well. As he leaned forward onto his hands, Danny squeezed his eyes shut to fight against the monstrous fatigue eating away at his muscles.

That was always what happened when he used the wail. It made him more exhausted than any of his powers combined. Despite the awful feeling, Danny couldn't help but smile as he stared at the floor, focusing in on the droplets of sweat plopping to the ground from where it had accumulated on his forehead. He'd done it. He'd saved Vlad from having to beat him.

The light smile on the boy's sweat laden face disappeared when he heard the door to the room slide open. He painfully lifted his head, watching warily as the Collector stepped into the room. He shot Danny a wary and confused look, but kept his distance for the moment as he went to inspect Vlad's condition.

The ghost knelt down beside the unconscious half-ghost and gently slapped his cheeks with the back of his hand. His frown only deepened when he saw that Vlad was out cold and would probably stay that way for a good, few minutes. Maybe even longer. The Collector wasn't a doctor, obviously.

Once he had deemed Vlad useless, the Collector lifted his gaze and focused in on the weakened teenager that was responsible for foiling his punishment. Standing up, hands fisted at his sides, the ghost approached Danny, his scowl deepening with each step he made towards the boy.

"You weren't supposed to win," the Collector snarled viciously. "No, no, you were supposed to be beaten. Slowly and methodically. I would have enjoyed that, but this...this was not meant to happen."

Danny looked up at the Collector, still panting from using his power. He wasn't afraid when the ghost stopped in front of him, towering over him as he shook with rage. He'd accomplished his task by saving Vlad, and he was prepared for the consequences. The boy flashed a pained grin and rasped, "I'm a...superhero. That's all I do is foil...evil plans."

"Well, if you are the hero..." the Collector said, his voice low and laced with vexation, "...then _I_ am the villain."

Before Danny could comment, the Collector planted a shockingly powerful kick directly into his gut. The surprise attack sent Danny falling onto his side, grasping at his still healing ribcage with agony clear on his face. He couldn't believe what had just happened, and his shock was only heightened when the Collector kicked him again when he was down.

"I should've told you that you would receive your punishment one way or another, boy," the ghost explained, slowly circling the groaning and defenseless halfa on the ground. "Though I certainly would prefer Mr. Masters delivering it...I suppose it is high-time I was the teacher."

"Y-you ca-can't do this," Danny whimpered, curling into a ball to ride out the pain racing through his abdomen. "You can't-"

"There's that word again," the Collector interrupted Danny with a rueful shake of his head. He lifted his foot up and stomped down on Danny's hand when the teen attempted to push himself up. Speaking over Danny's howl of pain, the ghost continued with a smirk, "_Can't_. I will never understand your human fascination for that word."

Meanwhile, Vlad's mind would have slowly come into clarity if it hadn't been for another one of Danny's cries of pain. With a start, Vlad awoke, heart beating wildly against his chest. Squinting through his bleary vision, Vlad tried to see what was going on in the room. From the looks of things, they weren't going very well. If anything, they were going worse than what was planned.

Vlad was on his feet in seconds, shaking off his dizziness and tired muscles as he marched toward the Collector who had his back momentarily turned and so didn't see the man approaching. Consumed with anger and an overarching sense to protect Danny, the man brought back a fist to punch the ghost, but he suddenly remembered a past command that would stop him from committing such damage. Coming up quickly with another solution than outright attacking the Collector, Vlad kicked the inside of the ghost's knee just as he was about to kick Danny again, throwing the Collector off balance.

As the ghost stumbled to the side, Danny cradled his injured hand to his chest, eyes clenched tightly shut. He was trying to see how many bones were broken from that attack. His entire hand felt like it was on fire. Barely able to focus through the blaze of agony and fatigue in his mind, the teen squinted up at Vlad. He hardly even knew it was Vlad at the moment.

"Vlad," the teen whispered, voice aching with pain. "D-don't..."

The Collector, who had recovered from his brief stent of ungracefulness, turned back to face Vlad, his expression morphed into a mocking smile. He knew Vlad couldn't hurt him. He'd ordered him not to do so. "Yes, Mr. Masters...don't," the ghost repeated, trying his best to mimic Danny's pathetic, trembling voice.

Vlad flinched at the overwhelmingly mocking tone in the Collector's voice and as a rush of anger crashed through him. His narrowed gaze glared furiously to the side as Vlad forced himself to think straight. He couldn't let his anger control him. If he allowed the emotion to overtake him, it would be no better than if the Collector gave him a command.

Raising his flinty gaze back up to the Curator, Vlad took a short step to stand in front of Danny as he asked the ghost, "What do you want, Mr. Curator? Does this _really_ satisfy you? Do you really enjoy hurting some mouthy kid just for the sake of hurting him?"

The Collector seemed to pause as he thought about Vlad's question. His whitish eyes drifted upwards before snapping back down to Vlad as a sickening grin twisted his features. "Yes," he answered, releasing a soft chuckle as the word came out. Keeping his eyes on Vlad, he strolled slowly back and forth in front him, saying evenly, "Oh, I probably wouldn't have a few weeks ago. In fact, I am certain of that. But things have changed, Mr. Masters. Don't pretend that you haven't noticed."

He stopped walking quite suddenly, hand shooting out to grab Vlad by the front of his shirt. The ghost yanked him forward and snarled into his face, "I _want_ to hurt him, and I am going to very, _very_, slowly. As they say, if you want something done right, do it yourself while a pathetic human watches."

The said, the Collector shoved Vlad off to the side with strength he wouldn't have thought the ghost possessed. "_Do not move, Mr. Masters_," the ghost ordered, his eyes focused in on Danny who was glaring weakly back up at him. Smiling again, the ghost murmured, "You'll be helping soon enough, my halfa."

The Collector's ominous words of promise spurred Vlad into action, but as he tried to rush forward he found himself frozen on the spot where he stood because of the command. No matter how hard he tried to break the spell, the man was stuck in place with his muscles tensed and his breathing laborious. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Vlad saw the dark intent inside the Collector's eyes as he approached the fallen Danny, that vicious, mirthless smile still painting his ghostly features.

Vlad's heart seemed to hike itself up into his throat as he realized what was going to happen next, and there was nothing, no word or action, that would stop the Collector or protect Danny from the coming pain. It was as if the scene unfolding before him was part of some sick television show Vlad was being forced to watch. And that was all he could do: watch.

Danny felt nearly as helpless as Vlad did. He could only stare up at the Collector as he weakly attempted to push himself back to his feet. Unfortunately, this was practically impossible to do with only one hand. His other was...definitely out of commission for now.

Breaths hissing in between his gritted teeth, the teen pointed his moveable hand at the approaching ghost, narrowing his eyes as he tried to blast the evil Collector right in the chest with ecto energy. Danny's shaking hand momentarily glowed with green energy before it fizzled out of existence. To the boy's dismay, he realized that he was too weak to fight back. He'd used all of his strength on that ghostly wail. He literally didn't have anything left.

The expression of woe on Danny's face only forced the Collector to laugh. "What's the matter, boy?" the ghost questioned, tilting his head to the side in false curiosity. Before Danny could answer, he reached out and wrapped his hand around the teen's wrist and forcefully yanked him to his feet.

"Too weak to fight me? What a shame," the Collector finished, grinning into Danny's pain-filled face. The ghost didn't hesitate to curl his free hand into a fist and slug the teenager in the gut. As Danny bent forward gasping, the Collector slammed his knee into Danny's face and let go of his wrist, allowing him to drop completely back to the floor again.

Vlad flinched in pained sympathy for the teen, letting out a small, incoherent sound from his throat as he pressed his lips together. He didn't want to keep watching, but it was like a train wreck. No matter how gruesome the sight, he couldn't pull his eyes away. And Vlad knew he had to watch this, have it engrained into his head and memories. He knew these images and feelings could one day end up being fodder to the ever burning desire to get himself and Danny out of the museum.

The Collector took a moment to shoot a glance back at Vlad, flashing him a coy smile before he focused back on Danny. The teen didn't seem to know which hurt more. The bleeding gash in his lips or the fact that he couldn't breathe and had landed on his wounded hand in the fall. The boy's pained whimpers only seemed to amuse the ghost further as he prodded Danny in the side with his foot.

Danny let out a choked gasping sound of pain, but it was all he could manage. Even the light touch against his battered ribcage felt like a hot spike being driven in between his ribs.

Still eager to continue the punishment, the Collector reached down and grabbed a handful of the back of Danny's shirt. With seemingly no effort at all, he hauled Danny up to his feet, turning to face Vlad again as he whispered to the boy, "You think we should let him help?"

Danny could only groan in response. His head was in too much pain to even allow him the ability to form sentences. Grinning, the Collector murmured, "I think so too."

That said, the ghost stepped up to Vlad and shoved the limp teenager into his arms, saying, "_Hold him up, Mr. Masters. And be sure to keep a firm grip_. We wouldn't want him falling down again. Poor boy might hurt himself."

Vlad shook his head as he received the dreaded order, hating the horrible fact that he was now going to be involved with Danny's pain. He held onto Danny's arms to keep him upright, pressing the boy's back close to his chest. Warily, Vlad watched the Collector, waiting for what he knew would come.

Unfortunately, Vlad didn't have to wait very long. The Collector waited for only a few seconds longer before he slammed a powerful punch into the side of Danny's head. From the agonized sound Danny made and the way he slumped forward, Vlad knew the ghost wasn't holding back. He was using all of his strength on the boy.

"This could have been avoided, you know," the Collector said, glancing down at his hand as he spread his fingers to inspect the spots of blood staining his knuckles. He was either speaking to Danny or Vlad, but it didn't really matter when he clocked the teenager again with another devastating punch to the opposite side of his head.

Pausing again to give Danny time to recover so that he would stay awake, the ghost glanced up at Vlad and said, "Perhaps if the boy had been more respectful...perhaps if you were more respectful, this would not have happened. I might have just stopped when you passed out."

The Collector reached out and grabbed Danny's chin so that he could look into his dulled eyes and bruised face. Shaking his head in an almost sad manner, he murmured, "If only."

The Collector's words were what did it for Vlad. He didn't know what to do anymore. Acting out in anger wouldn't do anything. Calling the ghost out on his lies and immoral behavior would only come off disrespectful, and Vlad knew that would only make their punishment worse. There was only one more option left, one that Vlad didn't think he would ever use because of how weak it would make him feel, but he was willing to do it if it helped Danny out in some way.

Leaning forward slightly, Vlad pleaded with the Collector, "You got what you wanted, now...please, stop this. Danny can't take much more. I'm sure he has internal bleeding. You could kill him if this goes on much longer. Please, stop."

The Collector's eyes flicked up to Vlad, and he stared back at him silently, eyes narrowing as his frown deepened. He glanced back down at Danny when he realized his head was drooping in his hand. Lifting the boy's chin up again, he saw that Danny's eyes were closed, and he had apparently passed out.

The ghost pulled his hand away, watching grimly as the teen's entire body slumped in Vlad's grasp. It was then that he realized Vlad most likely had a point. And, now that he thought about it, he finally felt satisfied. Continuing the punishment was no longer something he wanted to do. He had caused enough pain and, from what he could see of Vlad, suffering, as well.

"Yes," the Collector said, quietly but firmly. "We are done here."

As soon as the words were said, Vlad let out a relieved sigh. He moved to put Danny down so as to not worsen any injuries by moving him, but the command was still in place over his body. Vlad paused before looking back over to the Collector again and asking, "Will you let me put him down?"

The Collector considered his request for a moment before saying, "No. We will take him to the Infirmary now. There is no reason to delay." He turned to move towards the door but stopped to grunt over his shoulder, "_You may move, Mr. Masters_. I don't have to tell you to be gentle."

Quickly but carefully, Vlad switched his hold on Danny so that he was carrying the teen in his arms. He took a step forward and soon regretted his haste. The wail had rendered Vlad pretty weak, and he stumbled for a moment as the weight of Danny seemed to finally catch up with him. Panting from the effort, Vlad grunted as he got a more firm grip on the boy and tried once more to follow the Collector. Thankfully, this time he was more graceful and in control.

The Collector seemed to sense Vlad's struggle, and he kept his pace slow so that the man could keep up. His eyes remained firmly fixed ahead of him as he led the way towards the Infirmary. It was utterly silent in the hallway the pair walked through except for Vlad's strained breathing, and it remained that way until the Collector murmured, "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened to me...if you had never come here."

The ghost didn't look down at Vlad nor did he break his slow strides. His face even managed to remain emotionless as he said, "I am different now. Yet, I feel no regrets. I feel...nothing at times." Finally, the Collector glanced down at the human, his eyes glowing dully. "I am the villain now. You are not. Perhaps...that is the best thing to have come of this." He nodded slowly and looked away again. "Perhaps so."

Vlad looked cautiously up over to the Collector, his face blank as he studied the ghost. In all his years as playing a villain, Vlad couldn't have truthfully and with certainty had said what the Collector had just told him. Vlad had had spouts of doubt about his choices and evil actions, which he deemed as only natural at the time. And never once had he felt the absolute nothingness the Curator was talking about. There had always been something behind Vlad's motives that drove him forward from one wicked deed to another. He had never done evil just for the sake of doing evil.

That's when Vlad realized that he wasn't dealing with a normal villain anymore. The Collector wasn't like what Vlad used to be; he'd transcended into a different realm of evil, and there was no going back. The Collector had gone down a path that Vlad had never cared to fully follow because he didn't think he would like what he would find. But the Collector had found something down that road, and he was pretty satisfied with whatever he had now.

Staring straight ahead, Vlad murmured quietly, "Perhaps."

A/N: Dang, the Collector can be evil! That's what makes him such a good villain though, I think. Poor Danny, though. He just can't seem to catch a break. Anyways, I'm flying back to California for university next weekend, so I think I'll only post once on Saturday if I get the chance. See you guys then!


	25. Chapter 25 Not An Escape Plan

A/N: Not much to say but to enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I do not own any Danny Phantom characters. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Our rag-tag team of humans came very close to escaping the museum, but they never saw the human and ghost shield coming. The Collector caught up with them and brought upon their punishments, but not after threatening the lives of all their loved ones back home. During Vlad's and Danny's punishment, things went drastically wrong after Vlad found a loophole in the spell the Collector put upon him. The Collector crossed the line from a bad guy who stood on the sidelines as he took upon himself of unmercifully beating Danny to unconsciousness.

Chapter 25 Not An Escape Plan

After three months of being stuck in the museum and wishing and yearning for privacy, Vlad's wish finally came true. For 24 hours straight, Vlad was left as the only human on display as everyone else endured their punishment. The man was left alone as he ate his breakfast, lunch, and dinner all by himself in lonely silence.

A few weeks ago Vlad would have enjoyed the solitude, but this isolation was nothing like Vlad expected. The man was constantly faced with his guilt, worry, and stress as his restless thoughts endlessly tumbled around in his head. He could think of nothing else except for Danny, Ryder, and Melody. The mental strain almost made him physically sick. Vlad hardly ate anything all day, and sleep had eluded him that night. By the time dinner came and went, the man was exhausted with anxiety and concern as he sat forlornly at the empty picnic table.

Eventually the main doors to the room opened and dropped off the first human done with their punishment. A group of guards practically dragged Melody into the room and deposited her at the entrance before quickly leaving. The girl instantly dropped to her hands and knees, shaking uncontrollably as she desperately tried to keep her breathing even. Her eyes were unfocused, her skin was slick and clammy with sweat, and her clothes were soaked with the odious liquid.

Before Vlad could even ask as he approached her, Melody croaked out weakly, "Water."

"Come on," Vlad said gently as he tried to pick Melody back up so he could guide her to her cabin. "Can you walk?"

Melody slowly shook her head, saying faintly, "I'll...I'll pass out. I just...want water."

Without a word, Vlad scooped the girl up into his arms and began to carry her to her cabin. "Vlad-," the girl could hardly protest as she rested her head on the man's shoulder and closed her eyes, the world spinning all around her. Battling unconsciousness, Melody hardly realized it when she was lightly placed upon her bed with her back leaning against the wall. It was only when Vlad slapped her cheek that she was able to open her eyes and squint blearily back at the man. She couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Stay with me, Melody," Vlad told the girl. Producing a cup of water he'd gotten from the bathroom, he let her wrap her frail fingers around it before guiding it up to her mouth for her to drink. In a few greedy gulps, she downed all the water and Vlad hurried to get her another glass. It took five trips back and forth from the bathroom for Melody's thirst to finally be quenched.

"You're alright, Miss Hart. Just a little case of dehydration. Keep drinking water, and you should be fine in no time," Vlad assured her with a tight smile.

The man made a move to go and leave Melody alone to sleep, but he was prevented when Melody's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed onto his sleeve. "Please," Melody said, voice shaking slightly. "Please...just stay with me. Just for awhile."

Vlad hesitated before complying with a sad smile. "Alright," he submitted. He uttered a tired sigh as he eased onto the bed, sitting next to Melody. Feeling a bit awkward, Vlad glanced around the girl's beautiful room with all its little technology pieces and dangling math puzzles. He noticed that some details had been added since the last he had glimpsed the room, adding to the overall masterpiece.

Quick, heavy breathing beside him pulled Vlad out of his daydreams to focus back on the girl succumbing to panic beside him. Vlad had never seen Melody so vulnerable. She held the side of her head, eyes wide and unseeing as she mumbled incoherently under her breath.

"I can't do this. Not again. Not Matthew. I can't let him-. No. Oh, no. I can't," Vlad heard her rant.

"Melody," Vlad ventured out as he placed a tentative hand on the girl's shoulder, "are you alright?" The man knew he wasn't good at comforting, especially when it came down to Melody. It kind of disturbed him to see her so distraught and falling apart. She was always someone he could rely on to be stony and strong. To see her in this new light almost broke his heart.

"No," Melody answered truthfully, shaking her head vigorously. "No. Oh, hell no." She cautiously looked up over at Vlad and told him in a squeak, "I don't think I can do this anymore, Vlad. I'm so...so, _so_ happy to know Matthew is still waiting for me, but I can't...I can't risk killing him! I just can't. I don't know what I'd do if he-. He means so much. But...I can't stay here. It's a mad house. I'll go insane if I don't get out. I-I don't know what to do. I just d-don't..."

Pressing his lips together in silent sympathy, Vlad wrapped one arm around her shoulders, not knowing what to say. Tears rising to Melody's eyes, she choked out pathetically, "I miss him. _Oh god_, I miss him. And...and I'm so scared."

That's when the girl let out her first sob. Sighing sadly, Vlad pulled the girl closer, surprised when she suddenly turned and buried her head into his shoulder as more sobs racked her body. All of the sudden, Vlad felt like a father toward the girl. The feeling came over him so unexpectedly, the man had to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. Of course he had formed that feeling toward Danny recently, but he didn't think it could happen again and especially with Melody. He had admired and respected her on many levels, but never had she been someone he thought he needed to protect and comfort. Now she was, and there was no going back.

Vlad let Melody cry until she just couldn't anymore. When she was finished, the girl was even more exhausted than before. She leaned against Vlad's side, wiping tears off her cheeks with the palms of her hands as she shuddered out, "I needed that."

"That's what I suspected," Vlad said with a smile.

"Gawd, I can be such a little girl," Melody mumbled miserably.

Chuckling a little, Vlad said, "Yes. You can be."

"Shut up," Melody snapped back with a giggle. "You're supposed to be supportive right now."

"What? I was agreeing with you."

"Yeah, so the only time you do agree with me is when you're not supposed to. Thanks, Vlad. Thanks a lot."

"I'm simply doing my job."

Melody sighed, giving another quiet, tired giggle. Although she was still conflicted, scared, and homesick for her boy back in the real world, an odd sense of calm descended over her. She assumed it was because she had finally gotten all her emotions out.

What was surprising for her was the fact that Vlad hadn't judged her for any of it. Craning her neck back to look up at the man, Melody smiled when she finally decided that the man really did care for her and the others. It had taken him some time, but he had eventually come around. This gave Melody more comfort than she thought it would.

"Thanks," Melody suddenly whispered. When Vlad gave her a confused quirk of an eyebrow, she answered by saying, "For everything."

"Don't go making this moment awkward, now," Vlad joked with a wry smile.

"Just say you're welcome, you pompous idiot."

Vlad paused before saying with soft seriousness, "You're welcome, Melody."

It was another 12 hours before the next human was returned from their punishment. Much like they had for Melody, this round of ghost guards had to physically drag their unmoving human inside. They didn't hesitate to dump him on the floor before leaving without another word.

As Vlad and Melody took notice of the arrival from their seat at the picnic tables, they saw Ryder being unceremoniously tossed to the ground. He promptly curled into a tight ball on his side, holding his head in his hands as his shoulders shook with teary sobs. His punishment had gone as horribly as he'd known it was going to. Spending practically two days in the darkest, most inclosed space in the museum had nearly broken him completely.

Vlad and Melody were on their feet in seconds, rushing over to where Ryder had curled himself into a pitiful ball. Deep sympathy was on both their faces as they approached the man. Melody wasted no time as she sat down cross-legged beside her friend and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Aw, Ryder," was all she could say as she slowly rubbed his arm.

Feeling a bit awkward, Vlad followed Melody's lead as he sat down next to to Ryder too. Although he was stretching a little out of his comfort zone, Vlad knew he needed to be there for his friend. He managed to give Ryder's shoulder a short squeeze of silent encouragement. Sometimes being a friend didn't mean having to say anything; sometimes it just meant being there for support.

Ryder barely even knew that Vlad and Melody were sitting beside him. In his mind, he was still trapped in that room, still gasping for breath as he struggled to fight against his crushing claustrophobia. He was still trying to stay sane when thoughts of the Collector hurting his son were plaguing his terrified mind.

It was just too much for him to handle.

"I can't- I can't do this anymore," the thief sobbed, keeping his face buried in his hands as he continued to cry. "Not when he- Jet, I can't- _please_, no more, no more."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Melody whispered as she continued to soothingly rub Ryder's arm. She sniffed as tears prickled her vision. With a sad smile, she glanced over to Vlad. Their gazes connected, and Vlad returned her smile with a fatigued one of his own. There wasn't much either of them could say or do to help their friend because they were all stuck in the same sinking boat, and it made them feel rather useless.

"I-I'll stay here for-forever if he leaves Jet alone," Ryder whispered through his gasps. He curled himself into a tighter ball and wrapped his arms around his stomach as if trying to hold himself together. Lowering his head and squeezing his eyes shut, the man whimpered, his voice shaking, "I sw-swear I'll stay here forever."

"That means you will never see Jet ever again," Vlad said gravely after a pause. "Are you really prepared to completely abandon him like that? You will have to sever all ties with him for the rest of your life. Jet will have to grow up with no parents, thinking that you left him out of lack of love. He won't have any answers or evidence to prove otherwise. Can you truly give up on him like that?"

"Vlad-," Melody said warily, concerned that his words would upset Ryder even more.

"No. He should know the truth," Vlad said. Leaning closer to Ryder, Vlad asked, "And what if one day the Curator decides to have a little fun with you and see how far he can push you? What if he kills Jet simply for the entertainment value? How would giving up now protect Jet then? Trust me, Ryder, the ghost is coming very close to that point. Sooner or later it will not matter what we do. The Curator will do whatever he wishes to get a reaction out of us."

Ryder's breathing only seemed to become more labored and frightened the more Vlad spoke. He knew Vlad was telling the truth. Vlad was always right. Vlad wouldn't lie to him about this. That meant that...nothing he could do would save Jet. They couldn't get out of the museum and, even if they stopped trying, the Collector would kill his son for no reason at all.

"N-no," Ryder stammered, shaking all over. "That's not- that's not...no." More tears rose in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as he dug his hands into the fabric of his shirt. "H-he ca-can't grow up l-like me. _No_. That c-can't hap-happen. No, no, no."

"_Vlad!_ Why would you _say_ that? Look what you did!" Melody said, upset for her friend. "You could at least make this place look a little bit more hopeful. Why do you have to be so tactless? Jeez!"

"Let me finish."

"No! You've said enough, you heartless turd."

Vlad closed his eyes, growling in frustration. Calming down again, Vlad said quietly but seriously, "I have a plan."

Melody paused in astonishment before crying out, "This soon? And right after all this shit just happened? Seriously, Vlad?_ Gawd_, what is the matter with you?"

"No," Ryder muttered, shaking his head against the floor without opening his eyes. His voice sounded utterly defeated. Neither Vlad or Melody had ever heard the thief sound so despairing. Ryder shuddered pathetically and pressed his chin against his chest as he miserably mumbled, "I don't want anymore plans."

"See!" Melody told Vlad harshly. "Even Ryder doesn't want to hear anymore of your outrageous plans. Just because you don't have as much to lose, Vlad, doesn't mean the rest of us will blindly follow you."

Vlad actually cringed at the accusation. Keeping his eyes firmly shut, he strained to say as evenly as possible, "Don't...don't say that. It's not true." Opening his eyes, the man stared unseeingly at the floor as he said quietly, "He threatened my uncle's life...and Danny..." Locking his gaze with Melody's, he told her, "No. It's not true. I have just as much at stake as all of you do."

Glaring at her, Vlad waited for Melody to argue, but that moment never came. After a fierce battle with their narrowed stares, the girl's face softened and she returned her eyes down at Ryder. If anything, she looked defeated. It was good time to finally unveil what had been on Vlad's mind for too long of a time. He was afraid, though. He didn't know how they would respond, and that held them back.

Taking a deep breath, Vlad said carefully, "No. I've been planning this since the food fight."

Glancing cautiously up at the man, Melody said slowly and skeptically, "But that was...like two or three weeks ago. What kind of escape plan is it?"

Vlad hesitated before finally coming out and saying, "It's not an escape plan."

Ryder didn't want to listen. He wanted to keep his eyes shut and pretend that he wasn't there, pretend that he wasn't so scared and useless and pathetic. But he couldn't do that when he heard the tone of Vlad's voice. Unwillingly, the thief's eyes slowly reopened, and he stared straight ahead, blinking tears from his vision.

"What kind...what kind of plan is it?" he asked softly, voice rasping a little.

Letting himself smile coldly for the first time in weeks, Vlad answered, "It's a plan of sabotage. Most importantly, it's one of retribution. It's one where the Curator gets exactly what he deserves."

Ryder's gaze drifted up to Melody before he dragged a hand across his eyes and pushed himself upright. He scooted onto his butt and wrapped his arms around his knees so that he could look at both Vlad and Melody. He continued to rub at his eyes as he narrowed his stare on Vlad, silently debating whether or not he wanted to ask what he wanted to ask the man.

After releasing a tired sigh, Ryder mumbled, "What do we have to do?"

"Simple," Vlad answered, his smile turning into a wry one. "We destroy whatever is giving him power and finish him off by annihilating his entire museum."

Ryder was silent for several moments before he dropped his head and shook it slowly, letting out a small, pathetic laugh. "Good...good thing that's s-so easy," he sarcastically replied before leaning to the side so that his head rested on Melody's shoulder.

"We can't win," Ryder muttered under his breath, closing his eyes again. He'd thought that Vlad would have a good plan, but he guessed that was too much to ask right now.

"Hey," Vlad said firmly, "I'm not saying this is going to be easy or quick. I will admit right now that it is going to take some weeks. Furthermore, none of it will work unless all of us pitch in. Each of us has a specific responsibility to uphold to make the plan as a whole happen. But that is besides my point right now. The details can come later when Danny gets back."

Pointing his finger at the two thieves, Vlad told them, "Both of you know this isn't over. Yes, you both might be feeling conflicted about putting your loved ones in danger just as I am, but both of you know submitting to the Curator's will won't protect them from anything. So it all comes down to this: we have one last chance at ending this nightmare once and for all. This is it; either we pass or fail. We either take the Collector out in this one, last effort, or we fail and condemn our loved ones to death and we spend the rest of our lives in this hell hole. We'll go down swinging. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd enjoy one last whack and act of rebellion against that power hungry ghost. And I want that hit to hurt."

Once again, Ryder's eyes were unwillingly drawn back to Vlad. He pressed his lips together as he stared at the man. He really wanted to believe Vlad. He'd always trusted the man, even from the beginning of this nightmare. Vlad just had a way of talking that made you want to listen and believe him.

And Ryder didn't want to believe that they had a chance. He was too scared to get his hopes up again, but...he just wanted to trust Vlad.

As the thief opened his mouth to speak, the doors of the room opened. All three adults turned, their stomachs clenching up in worry as they each realized the only person that it could be.

Much like before, the Collector came strolling into the room. However, this time, he was pushing a wheelchair in front of him with the fourth and youngest member of the group seated in it. If it was possible, the teen somehow managed to look worse than his last beating. His right eye was swollen shut while black, bordering on purple, bruises covered the rest of his face. The gash in his lips hadn't healed very well, and that only managed to make him look more wounded.

The teen was sitting slumped in the chair, his head hanging low. In fact, he probably would've fallen right out of the wheelchair if the Collector hadn't grabbed his shoulder and tilted him back upright. Shaking his head in silent amusement, the ghost proceeded to grasp the back of the boy's shirt and lift him out of the chair.

He deposited Danny in front of the wheelchair and turned away without saying a word. Taking the wheelchair with him, the ghost disappeared back out the way he'd come, leaving Danny to sway where he stood. He tried to take a step forward, but his swimming vision forced him to stop. Darkness momentarily washed across his eyes and, the next thing he knew, he was laying flat on the ground.

Rolling over onto his side, agonized breaths hissing between his gritted teeth, Danny closed his good eye and tried to wish away the pain blasting through every inch of his body.

"Jeez, Vlad," Melody whispered as the group gently let go of Danny from when they had rushed over to prevent him from falling on his face. She expressed a relieved smile when the teen opened his eyes and rolled over to his side. At least he hadn't passed out. "He made you do more damage than last time. Didn't think that was possible."

"It...mmm, it wasn't me who did this to him," Vlad said soberly. He didn't look up at the others as he rubbed Danny's shoulder.

"You mean...?" Ryder trailed off, staring at Vlad with wide eyes. Thankfully, it didn't take a genius to figure out how Danny had come to this state. Looking back down at the horrible state of the teen, Ryder could barely believe the Collector had stooped so low. He had never thought it was possible. The thief reached out a trembling hand and patted Danny as softly on the back as he could manage.

Danny's eye finally regained focus, and he dazedly shook his head as he looked up at the adults kneeling above him. Cradling his heavily bandaged hand close to his chest, the boy muttered slowly, as if he was having trouble forming words, "I just...tripped."

The group was quiet for second, confusion showing itself on each of their faces until Vlad broke out into a grin. He leaned forward to look into Danny's face before saying sarcastically, "Of course you did, Daniel."

Danny nodded somewhat firmly and said, "Damn right, I did." He stopped for a moment to close his eye and fight down the swell of pain in his skull. As he did, he softly ran his good hand across the metal braces on his middle and index finger. According to the doctor, the Collector had broken his hand and those two fingers. He'd also managed to re-break his wounded ribs and aggravated his earlier concussion.

All in all, he felt like awful. Just pure awful.

Finally recovering from his shock, Ryder blinked down at the teen before looking at the rest of the group. "Danny just cursed," he murmured and put a hand to his head. "How hard did the Collector hit him? ...Oh, I don't wanna know. Please, don't tell me. I might throw up."

Vlad glanced up at Ryder, chuckling a little. Melody just shook her head, trying to decide if she was horrified or amused by Danny's attitude. Seeing Danny in such a horrible state but still retaining his old, over-confident spirit encouraged Vlad more than ever. Grinning back down at the boy, Vlad asked, "How are you feeling...besides the obvious? You look like you've been through a blender, by the way."

Without opening his eye, Danny mumbled back with a dazed smile, "Thanks for that, Vlad. Real...encouraging." The teen's grin slowly drifted away as his eyebrows furrowed, face pinching up when he really stopped to think about the question. In all honesty, he felt worse than he'd ever felt before. And that was saying a lot.

"If I say fine...you'll know I'm lying," Danny eventually replied, sounding like he was struggling to speak again. He wasn't quite sure when talking had gotten so hard. "And...if I tell you how awful I'm really feeling, you'll tell me to stop whining...So I'm gonna say that...I've been better, Vlad."

"Oh, because that sounds dandy," Melody said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Laying down on her side so she could face Danny, she told the teen, "Come on, kid. If you feel like shit, just tell us. We would totally understand." Sighing, she added, "Because we're all kind of feeling that way right about now."

Danny pried his eye open and looked over at Melody before glancing up at Ryder who nodded his head sullenly back at him. He didn't like the current attitude that seemed to be around everyone. Depressing didn't even begin to cover it. He promptly shut his eye again, slowly rubbing at his wounded hand.

"Yeah...I feel like crap," the boy quietly admitted, grimacing as he spoke. "He broke my hand just by...by stomping on it. I didn't even think that was possible..." Danny stopped for a moment to take in a quiet breath to steady himself before he continued. "And...sure, I'm scared. I think...I'm just scared there's something wrong with...my head after what he did to me. But...I'm not scared of him. He's just a bad guy. We can beat him. I...I know we can."

"Gawd. First Vlad. Now you, too," Melody growled out. "You both are freaking crazy." Pinning Danny with a condemning stare, she asked him, "So when did Vlad tell you his harebrained scheme?"

Slowly, Danny cracked his eye open and looked at Melody. Even more slowly, his gaze drifted up to Vlad as he painfully raised an eyebrow. "Vlad has a plan again?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," Ryder answered for the man, bobbing his head up and down as he continued to pat Danny's back. Just seeing Danny like this made him so sad and angry. He was furious that the Collector had done this to the boy. Danny was like a little brother to him. Furiously scrubbing at his cheek with a fist, Ryder muttered, "It's not an escape plan, though."

"Not an escape plan," Danny repeated dully. Closing his eye again, the teen let out a painful chuckle and said, "I like it already."

"Ug. You only like it because you're high on pain meds," Melody scoffed. "You know we can't do anything else unless you want your family to die. You're a _superhero_. How can you even consider putting your family at risk like that?"

"I would _kill_ for some pain meds right now," Danny mumbled back at her. He didn't sound angry. The teen wasn't even sure if he could get angry right now. That seemed like too much effort for his body to expend at the moment.

Focusing back on Melody's statement, Danny said quietly, "My family...needs me. I know that they miss me, and I...can't live with myself if I don't even try to get back to them so that they can stop worrying about me." The boy nodded slowly, murmuring, "I have to try...one last time."

Melody let out a slow, shuddering sigh, indecisiveness plucking at the creases in her forehead. Nodding, she said quietly in understanding, "Yeah. I get it." Lifting her eyes toward Ryder, they shared their gazes as she asked, "What do you think...about all this planning crap?"

Ryder chewed on the inside of his cheek, eyes flicking back down to Danny for a moment. He was still terrified for his son's safety...but Danny was right. The kid had just as much to lose as he did, and he wasn't giving up just yet. If Danny could be brave, then so could he.

Meeting Melody's gaze, the thief nodded. "One more time," he murmured solemnly. "Just...just one more time."

Melody sighed again, this time in defeat. Although she was hesitant, she couldn't help but see the logic behind the plan and feel the need to inflict their revenge on the Collector. She decided that if she was going to go down, she was going to do it while kicking and screaming...and hopefully punching too.

Moving her gaze over to Vlad's, she asked him in a slightly trembling voice, "Is this going to work?"

"If we work together and do our parts correctly, it will," Vlad assured her.

"Don't lie," Melody argued. "There's a chance it could go wrong, and-."

"Yes, there is a chance we will fail," Vlad said bluntly, "but that shouldn't prevent you from believing it can work out too. You have to believe this can work, Melody. If you don't believe it can, your heart won't be in it. And if that's the case, you might as well not agree to help us at all. It's all or nothing. We need you, Melody. All of you."

Melody closed her eyes for a few seconds before finally nodding. "Alright," she said. "Alright. I'm in."

The group was silent for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts until Danny cleared his throat softly. "Hey...I know we're having, like, a moment here, but laying on the ground is really hurting now," the teen said, rolling over onto his back with a soft grunt of pain. Panting slightly, he muttered, "Can someone...ug, help me up?"

He grinned blearily for a second before adding, "And then we can just group hug it out, okay?"

Vlad let out a chuckle as he eased himself to his feet like the others were doing. Once Danny had mentioned it, it was kind of odd for them to be sitting on the ground by the main door. As Vlad gripped Danny by his good hand, he instructed Ryder to help by lifting the boy up from behind. In one small heave, they had the teenager back on his feet.

"You're so demanding," Vlad teased Danny as he let the kid lean on him for support after such a dizzying experience.

"You know me," Danny replied quietly, letting out another pained laugh. "I'm...basically a dictator. A short...basically bald at this point...dictator." Without hesitating a moment longer, the teen turned around and hugged Vlad around the waist with one arm. As he buried his face in the man's shirt, he mumbled to Vlad, "Hugs are my first...decree as dictator."

Vlad let out another chuckle before sighing and hugging Danny back. He was so relieved to see the teen like his old self again despite all that happened. It allowed the guilt on the man's shoulders east up just a little to let some hope soak in.

Vlad practically jumped in surprise when Melody suddenly joined them in the hug, giggling as she told Danny, "There should be more dictators like you, kid."

"Mmhm!" Ryder agreed as he eagerly joined the hug-fest as well. He'd been hesitating because he knew Vlad didn't like hugs, but after seeing Melody go for it, he'd thrown caution to the wind.

Danny smiled a little as he closed his eye and enjoyed the hug that everyone was giving him. He never would've thought it was possible that first day that their group would eventually end up here. This hug meant so much more than just a hug to the teen. It was like...well, the best hug ever.

"Y'know," Danny said with a quiet laugh. "I was joking about that group hug thing, guys."

-A Day Later-

"Like I told all of you before," Vlad said to the group at the picnic table, "I've split the responsibilities between us four according to our strengths. From what you'll be doing, it might not look like you're achieving very much. Nonetheless, as a whole and when our accomplishments add up, the plan will come to fruition. Our ultimate goal is simple. We're going to burn the entire museum to the ground."

Ryder blinked at Vlad, freezing with his spoonful of mush halfway up to his mouth. He glanced at Melody and Danny from the corner of his gaze before muttering, "Well...uh, never tried arson before. What's the worst that could happen?" That said, he shoved the food into his mouth and smiled as he chewed it.

Danny shared Ryder's shock as he looked up at Vlad and shook his head in wonderment. "Alright...I'll just ask the obvious here," the teen began slowly. "How're we gonna do this?"

"All we will need is to start the fire and let it spread, which I know is easier said than done, but I have plans for that," Vlad explained. "The hard part will be distracting the Curator long enough so that by the time he realizes there is a fire it will be too late to put it out. Hopefully, though, he won't get to that point. By the time we implement this plan, I want to know how to bring the ghost down. He has a weakness, and I know that some ghost in this very room knows exactly what it is. All I need to do is find someone who will talk and show me the truth."

Looking at everyone's skeptical looks, Vlad assured them, "I'm close, though. We've already eliminated the obvious. The Curator's power isn't his own, meaning he doesn't generate his power just by his own means and strength. Also, an artifact is not what is giving him power because he has been steadily getting stronger. An artifact simply gives the wielder a predetermined limit of power. It doesn't grow along the way. I think his power...might be coming from another ghost."

Danny nodded slowly, eyebrows furrowing as he did his best to think through Vlad's plan. There were a lot of ifs in there. What if Vlad was wrong about the Collector's power? What if he found out about the fire and stopped it? What if there was actually a ghost giving him power but they couldn't find it in time?

The teen very lightly brushed a hand against his temple and squinted his good eye. His thinking process probably wasn't working well because of the pain in his head or because he hadn't gotten more than four hours of sleep in three days or so now. He didn't know why, but he'd just been unable to sleep and that was definitely affecting him right now.

"So...let's just say there is a ghost that's giving the Collector power," Danny said, glancing down at the table as he leaned forward and massaged his temple again. "What happens when we find him? I mean...he's not just gonna stop doing what he's doing because we ask him to."

Vlad shook his head. "Exactly. No," he said. "It won't want to do anything we ask it to." Brightening up, Vlad continued while leaning forward, "That is where my expertise comes into play. Let me explain in a roundabout way. If you remember correctly, the Curator used my own technology to create the ghost shield outside. So what stopped him from using that same technology to create other things in this museum to keep Danny and I trapped in here?"

Trying a different tactic to expound on his idea, Vlad said while motioning toward Ryder, "Here, let me show you through an example. Would you be so kind, Mr. Walker, as to lend me your hand? Just lay it out on the table."

Ryder stopped eating again when he heard his name, and he glanced awkwardly up at everyone when he noticed that they were staring at him. He swallowed what he'd already been chewing and muttered, "Um...why can't Melody..." The thief trailed off when he got an annoyed look from the girl, and he blew out a sigh as he unwillingly stuck his hand out flat on the table.

"I don't like being an example," Ryder grumbled under his breath, staring down at his hand as if he was afraid it was going to get chopped off at any moment.

"Now, you see, if I turn intangible, I can go right through Ryder's hand," Vlad said, ignoring the man's trepidation at being a model. To demonstrate, Vlad turned his hand intangible and phased through Ryder's hand. "But," the man continued, "(and this is a substantial but), when I try to phase through his bracelet on his wrist, watch and see what happens."

Vlad swiped his intangible hand through Ryder's arm. The movement was smooth until it came into contact with the bracelet. Once his hand reached it, he was prevented from going any farther. Vlad tried a few more times until it was apparent that intangibility had no effect on the device.

"Of course, I can't phase through it," Vlad said with a smile. Looking down at Danny, he added, "It's like the metal your parents used to build the Fenton Thermos. It doesn't stop me from going intangible, but it prevents me from phasing through it. It's a perfect material and combination of technology to trap a ghost in. Actually, it was their technology that inspirited me for this one, but that's beside the point.

"Anyways," Vlad went on further as he lifted Ryder's arm up to display his bracelet, "what if I made a device that does just that out of this material?"

Smirking a little at the obvious relief on Ryder's face at seeing his arm still attached to his body, Danny looked back up at Vlad. Because he was still having trouble thinking, he wasn't exactly getting what Vlad was saying. "How would you do that?" the teen asked, eyebrows furrowing together. "And...how're you gonna get it off his arm? It's kinda...stuck on there."

The question promptly dropped the smile from Ryder's expression, and he stared over at Vlad with wide eyes. "You can't cut my arm off," he said fearfully, his voice utterly serious.

"What? No!" Vlad exclaimed, shaking his head at the horrible thought. "Why would I-?" Closing his eyes, Vlad let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his forehead before looking back up at everyone as he got back in the game.

"I won't have to use the material on our bracelets," Vlad explained, "I would like to try to take some of them apart to see what goes on on the inside, but the great thing about this plan is that I already have all the materials I need right here. This room, no, this entire museum, is like a giant version of the ghost trap I could make. That's how the Curator designed it. He made it this way for his guests to feel the authenticity of a human building and ultimately to keep us inside."

"So let me get this straight," Melody said critically. "You're going to create some miniature ghost trap?"

"Correct."

"And you're making this trap thing for what reason exactly? Is it for the Collector?"

"No," Vlad said, trying to make things clear, "This device would trap the ghost the Curator is using to get so much power. If trapped inside the device I'm planning to make, the ghost will be left to our disposal. Which means," Vlad said breathlessly, "we'll have our very own hostage to bargain with."

"_Ohhh_," Ryder breathed, raising his eyebrows in realization as he pulled his arm away to keep it safe just in case. "So it's like Mouse Trap, and the ghost is the cheese!"

Danny sat up from his slouched position as everything finally started to make sense in his mind. "And while the Collector's focused on the cheese-er, I mean, the ghost, one of us can start the fire without him even knowing, right?"

"Exactly!" Vlad said, excited that at least someone was getting his point. He paused before saying, baffled, "Except for the cheese part. I'm afraid I have no clue what you're talking about, Mr. Walker."

"It's a game," Melody muttered with a wave of her hand. If possible, Vlad's expression got even more bewildered. "Anyways, the fire. That's kind of dangerous. What happens if we get trapped in it?"

"I've already thought of that," Vlad said with a knowing smile. "We won't be trapped because the fire won't even be set unless we hack into the main system and open all the doors to the museum. And that, my dear, is where you will come in."

"I...uh," Melody said nervously, trying to scoff off the man with a forced chuckle. "I don't know why you think I can do that."

Danny glanced awkwardly to the side and rubbed the back of his neck. He remembered promising Melody that he wouldn't tell Vlad she was a hacker. He'd kept that promise, but he couldn't exactly bring that up without breaking the promise. Obviously, Vlad had figured it out all on his own and that put him in a sticky situation. Thankfully, Ryder solved it for him.

The thief shook his head and put a hand on Melody's shoulder. "Give it up, Mel," he told her with a knowing smile. "He figured out Jet was my son, like, instantly. You're in the same boat, computer nerd."

"So I know a thing or two about computers," Melody argued. "That doesn't mean I'm a nerd!"

"Nuances aside, I don't care what you call it that allows you to hack into a computer system and bring it to its knees," Vlad pointed out bluntly. "All I know is that it is useful."

"But...I...ug!" Melody could hardly grumble back, aggravation preventing her from getting any kind of verbal sentence out. Closing her eyes, she furiously rubbed her temple with one hand. Vlad's plan was going too fast for her, and now this bomb had just exploded in her face. Calming her nerves, Melody stared down at the table as she said plainly, "Hacking into a bank's system filled with accounts and numbers is one thing, Vlad. I'm good with numbers. They're easy. Hacking into a ghost museum's security system is a completely different story. I don't know the first thing about ghosts, and I sure as hell don't know about their system. You're crazy if you think I can do that."

"C'mon," Ryder said, grinning supportively over at Melody. "How hard can it be? These guys probably just started using computers, like, four months ago when you and me got here. It can't be that advanced! I mean, the Collector calls cars 'human vehicular transportation' or something weird like that! He's stupid!"

Turning towards Vlad again, the thief asked in excitement, "So how's she gonna get to the room where she can hack into the stuff? I mean, 'cause, the doors aren't gonna be open yet and everything. And who gets to start the fire? I have such an awesome joke ready and waiting for when it happens!"

"Already?" Vlad asked with a wry smirk. "You do take pride in working fast, don't you, Mr. Walker?" Trying not to chuckle, Vlad pushed on by saying, "Anyways, I'm sure you will be thrilled to know that you will be the one starting the fire, Ryder. Can you guess where that will be?"

Smile widening at the news that he was the lucky fire starter, Ryder squeezed his hands into fists and shook them eagerly to keep himself from bouncing in excitement. "Yes! I get to say a pre-planned joke for once!" he cheered and punched the air in victory.

The thief quickly composed himself as he thought about Vlad's question. "Um, I dunno," he said, eyebrows crunching together in thought. "Like, in the cabin or something? That'd be kinda sad."

Vlad shook his head. "No," he said. "This room shouldn't be the first to go because it won't sustain the fire that we need. We need a room that will cultivate the fire long enough to make it last and spread to the rest of the building, a room that has plenty of fuel. You will start the fire in the library. Because what better fuel would there be than a room full of paper books?"

Danny nodded slowly, leaning his head onto his good arm as he said, "Smart."

Ryder grinned in agreement and excitement at the thought of setting an entire library on fire. He'd secretly always wanted to set something big on fire before, but he'd never tried it. However, the man's smile drifted away momentarily, and he asked with quiet confusion, "How'm I gonna get there, though? It's...it's way over there, and we're over here."

"You'll be able to get there after Melody hacks into the system, opens all the doors, and turns off all the security," Vlad explained. "That way, you won't have to fear about being caught or disturbed as you set up the fire."

"Awesome!" Ryder cheered again, his grin returning tenfold. He was starting to like this plan a lot. "This is gonna be the most amazing thing ever. Oh, I can't wait, can't wait." The thief turned to Melody and pointed at her as he seriously said, "You better hack things right so I can start this fire. My joke depends on it!"

"Ug. That's just it!" Melody said, less aggravated now and more nervous. She put her arms on the table and rested her head on them as she said, trying not to sound too hopeless, "I'm not sure I'll be able to do anything. I don't know the system. It might be too different. I told you guys already that I don't know anything about ghost technology."

Leaning toward the girl, Vlad said quietly, "Melody, I know plenty about ghost technology. I've invented half the stuff that makes up this museum. If you're so unsure about your role, I can help. I can teach you what I know."

Keeping her gaze locked on Vlad, Melody let out a long sigh. She nodded once before quickly shaking her head. "How do you know I'll learn enough in the short amount of time?" she finally asked.

"Because I know you," Vlad said with a confident smile. "You're quick. You will get it." Sitting back in his seat, Vlad added, "Besides, it will be awhile until we will implement the plan. This will take a few weeks to put together."

"Aww." Ryder slouched back on the bench and crossed his arms over his chest in a pout. "I'm gonna have to write my joke down or something."

Danny rolled his eyes before turning his focus onto Vlad. "What're we gonna do then?" he asked quietly. Melody and Ryder's roles so far seemed to go along perfectly with their skills. That made Danny wonder what he could possibly do to help. He was extremely relieved that he'd get a few weeks to recover, at the very least. As of right now, he was more than useless.

"You're going to help me with my investigation concerning this ghost giving the Curator his power," Vlad told Danny. "I want you to continue doing what we had started a few days ago. Try to meet new ghosts and talk to the ones you've already befriended. Now that you know what we're looking for, you might be able to ask the right questions to lead you toward uncovering our mysterious culprit.

"Furthermore," Vlad went on, "I want you in a good, healthy condition before we implement the plan. I want you by my side when we confront both the ghost giving the Curator his power and the Curator himself. If a fight ensues, I want you strong enough to help."

Pointing down to Danny, Vlad concluded, "You won't heal quickly enough in human form. While your ghost side still helps you heal faster than a regular human when you're in human form, it's not as fast as when you're simply in ghost form. This means you need stay in ghost form now as much as you can. This should start right about now."

"Oh...well, okay," Danny agreed softly, sitting up straight as he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Since coming to the museum, his ghost form had always been something he did his best to avoid being in. This feeling had only heightened as of late. Every time he'd been forced into his ghost side, he'd gotten the crap beat out of him.

Swallowing down his unease as he put on a brave face, Danny transformed into his ghost half. He let out a small sigh of relief when the pain pounding through his skull dulled extremely and was replaced by the familiar, comforting chill of his ghostly side. He could actually sit up straight with ease now. It was an amazing improvement, that was for sure.

Ryder shook his head, grinning as he murmured, "That is still so cool."

Danny flashed his own smile. "What's even cooler is that I can see normally now," he told the thief. Smile dimming, Danny glanced up at Vlad again, shifting his hands anxiously. "What if...," the teen lowered his voice to a mutter and dropped his head a little, "...what if the Collector-." Danny stopped there, hoping that Vlad understood his fears. He was scared that, after a while, the ghost would just come looking for trouble without cause.

The mood of the table drastically dimmed at the unfinished question. Everyone knew what Danny was saying. It was the question that had been on everyone's mind, yet nobody had the heart to speak it. They all looked over to Vlad, expecting answers or at least some kind of encouragement.

Vlad tried to give them a reassuring smile, but it flickered away too quickly, which only made it look like a grimace. Sighing somberly, the man told them, "If the Curator decides to punish us for no reason at all, there will not be much we can do about it. It is unfortunate, but that is the lot we've been handed, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, punishments won't hinder this plan. They might delay it for a few days here and there, but we can slowly and steadily build our knowledge and arsenal."

Leaning forward with his arms on the table, Vlad continued with a little bit more confidence, "But there might be a way we can delay some of what he has in store for us."

Danny raised an eyebrow, leaning forward onto the table as well so he could meet Vlad's eyes. "What's that?" he asked suspiciously. He wasn't sure if he liked where this was going. Anything that would keep the Collector from punishing them couldn't be anything but completely degrading. Though, he was almost sure at this point that he'd be okay with that if he could avoid getting beaten again.

Ryder looked just as concerned as Danny did. He cleared his throat and muttered, "It's not gonna be fun, is it?"

"Of course it's not going to be fun," Melody muttered as she rested her head on one of her palms. "It's coming from Vlad. Not much of what he says is very happy."

"Mmm. Where would we be without your adorable wit, Miss Hart?" Vlad said with a sardonic smile.

"You would all be quite depressed, actually," Melody answered with a confident nod.

Shaking his head, Vlad became more serious as he said, "All joking aside, we might be able to avoid the Curator for a short time by giving into him. He used to punish us because in his mind we deserved it for trying to escape. He wanted to show us that resisting him was wrong. Now that he is consumed by his own power, he wants to see his control over us. He wants to see our fear and the pain of our submission to him. I say we give him what he wants. I say we submit to him and show him our fear. It may satisfy him for some time, giving us the ability to get back on our feet to begin this plan."

"Well, how're we gonna do that?" Danny demanded, though he really didn't want to know at all. He didn't think he had a big ego, but the thought of submitting to that ghost...even by pretending, made him feel sick to his stomach. "Are we just gonna go up to him and, like, what? Bow down to him? I'm sure he'd love that, the sick jerk. Maybe we could bake him an apology cake or something. Or just bust out crying right in front of him. Yeah, I bet he'd think that was hilarious!"

"Whoa, Danny," Ryder said, holding up a hand, his eyes wide. "Calm down there, sport."

Danny glanced over to the thief and took a deep breath as he nodded. "Sorry. I just..." The teen shook his head and waved his good hand as if to brush aside what he'd said. "I'm sorry." He looked over to Vlad and asked again, "What should we do?"

Vlad stared at Danny for an extra second, giving him a wary look before saying, "Nothing as...dramatic as you just mentioned. When he comes around to check up on us in the display cases, we should act nervous and afraid. When he is around, we can bow our heads and avert our eyes from his. We can even address him as Curator or sir. The change will be subtle, but the Curator will notice it. For a while, he might even revel in it. That will be toward our advantage."

Danny looked down at his hands on the table and rubbed at the braces on his fingers. He was more than thankful he couldn't feel the pain of his broken fingers. His ghost form had dulled the fiery throbbing. "That won't satisfy him for long...but it works, I guess," the teen murmured, keeping his eyes averted.

He wasn't trying to be pessimistic. No, he just wanted to keep fighting against the Collector with everything he had. Showing the ghost anything but spite just frustrated him to no end.

Vlad pressed his lips together, looking down in thought before returning his stare back to Danny. Leaning down and tilting his head to the side to try to grab contact with Danny's eyes, Vlad asked the teen, "Are you alright? You're bothered by this part of the plan. It's written all over your face."

"Of course I am," Danny answered quietly, keeping his eyes focused on his hands. He wanted to feel embarrassed by his reaction, but he really couldn't. He was glad he felt this way. "I don't want to...I _can't_ give him any satisfaction after all he's done to me, to us. Even if it is fake. I know it'll trick him, but..."

The boy blew out a sigh, finally glancing up at Vlad. "It's just wrong," he murmured after a pause.

Vlad heaved a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair. "It isn't wrong," he told the teen. "You're just stubborn." Before Danny could protest, Vlad raised a hand and said evenly, "I understand where you're coming from, Danny, but this isn't about your feelings toward the ghost. We need to escape. Escaping means surviving this place long enough to get out, and sometimes the greatest weapon toward survival is deceiving. It's not...it's not about keeping every last drop of your pride."

"I think we passed that milestone a long time ago," Danny muttered dryly, raising an eyebrow up at Vlad again. He was silent for a moment longer before heaving another sigh and nodding unwillingly. "I get what you're saying, though. I know I'm stubborn, but...I'd rather be stubborn than weak."

Vlad smiled warmly as he told the teen, "You're not weak, Danny. If you were, you probably wouldn't even be here." Glancing at the others at the table, he said, "The same goes for all of us. There's a difference between actually being weak and, well, _pretending_ to be weak." His grin turned slightly malicious as he added, "Quite honestly, I think you'll find some small fraction of satisfaction if you pretend in front of the Curator. Just knowing that you're duping him into thinking he's getting what he wants is probably the complete opposite of what he wants, but the sweet part is that he will have no clue."

Ryder shared Vlad's evil grin as he rubbed his hands together in front of his face. "I can't wait," he said with a quiet laugh. "He won't even know, the stupid jerk. Can you just imagine the stupid look on his dumb face when he thinks we're all down for the count? Ha! It'll be classic!"

Danny was silent for a heartbeat before his serious expression cracked as he smirked and chuckled a little. "If only we had a camera to take a picture of it, Ryder," he agreed.

Face brightening, Melody turned to Ryder, saying half jokingly, "You should probably steal one before we escape. That would be so epic!"

Before anyone could respond, Vlad quickly butted in. "No! No," he said, trying not to shout in his hurry. Looking back and forth between Danny and Melody, he told them, "Don't encourage him." Pinning his gaze on Ryder, Vlad ordered specifically, "I know this might sound harsh, Mr. Walker, but no more stealing. Especially bigger things that are worth more than just pens and...and post-it notes. It's too dangerous. Those bigger items like the book you got for me and the scissors could draw the Curator's attention, and we don't need any more of that."

"But- I..." Ryder tried to argue, but ended up closing his mouth as he pouted down at the table. His shoulders slouched as his excitement dwindled away. He'd been so ready to go steal a camera and take pictures like Danny had said, but now he totally couldn't without getting yelled at. Of course...what Vlad didn't know wouldn't exactly hurt him.

With that thought in mind, Ryder looked up at Vlad, put on a big smile and nodded. "Sure, Vlad," he agreed, secretly crossing his fingers beneath the table. "No more stealing. Okay."

Vlad studied Ryder for a few extra seconds, a careful, dubious expression on his face. "I mean it," he muttered.

"Oh my gawd," Melody suddenly piped up, turning toward Ryder. "It was you who stole my post-it notes, wasn't it?"

"Me?" Ryder repeated, putting a hand to his chest in shock. "Why would I ever steal your post-it notes? You sound crazy, Melody."

"Oh, I don't know, Ryder," Melody said in a mockingly dumb voice. Switching back into scathing mode, she snapped back, "Maybe because you're a thief! I'm the only one here who had post-it notes. How come Vlad told _you_ not to steal them, then? You wrote him a note on one you stole from me, didn't you?"

"Why would I write a note when I can so easily use my voice? Maybe you just lost them," Ryder replied, waving his hand through the air to dash away Melody's worries. As he did so, he subtly scooted to the end of the bench to try and get out of range of the girl's slapping zone. He also shot Vlad a reprimanding glare and mouthed to him accusingly, '_Blabbermouth_.'

"Don't try to lie your way out of this one, you overdramatic baby," Melody growled as she scooted after him, forefinger raised threateningly.

Vlad could only offer Ryder a sheepish smile and a shrug. He hadn't meant to spill the beans, but it wasn't as if that mattered to him at this point. The hint of a grin still on his face, Vlad rose to his feet and leaned over the table to address the two thieves. "I'll let you two handle this ordeal on your own," he said. "I'm going to bed. We begin preparations tomorrow night."

That said, Vlad made his leave after flashing Danny a quick smile, leaving Melody and Ryder to fight it out on their own.

"Uh...I'm just gonna..." Danny began, inching his way towards the end of his own bench.

"No, Danny! Don't go!" Ryder yelped, leaning as far away from Melody's threatening finger as he could while still staying seated. "She's gonna-!"

"Oh, I think Vlad just said my name," Danny hastily interrupted the thief. "I better go see what he wanted. Bye!"

That said, the teen turned intangible and flew through the table towards the cabin, shaking his head as he heard Ryder quickly saying, "We can solve this without violence, can't we?" He got too far away to hear Melody's answer, but he just knew it wasn't what Ryder wanted to hear.

Once Danny reached the cabin, he didn't hesitate to phase halfway through the wall and ask quietly, "Hey, Vlad? Can I ask you something?"

From where he was grabbing a towel off a peg near the bathroom's door, Vlad glanced over at Danny. "Go ahead," he said with a nod.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he phased the rest of the way through the wall and floated to the ground. "Well, I was really just trying to get away from Ryder and Melody, but I was also wondering..." The boy dropped his hand and looked up at Vlad, his expression solemn.

"I know what you said back there, but I wanna know if...you really think this is going to work?" Danny murmured, raising his eyebrows. "I trust you, I just...I wanna know what you really think."

Slowly walking over to his bed, Vlad scratched the back of his head, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh. Sitting down, he rested his forearms on his knees and looked up at Danny. "Look," he began, "there are a lot of things that could go wrong with this plan. Honestly, our group doesn't possess the greatest of luck. Yes, the plan is complicated, and yes not everything will work out the way we want it to. That's speaking realistically."

With a trace of a somber smile, Vlad continued, "Also speaking realistically, we have a chance. I feel that at this point, after that last crushing blow he dealt us, I know who the Curator is now and how he operates. I've seen how strong, smart, and connected this group is. This plan puts our minds and talents together. It's perfect for us. If we stick to it, I believe it will work."

"Then it's gonna work," Danny agreed with a firm nod. He gave his own small smile as he added, "Don't worry so much, Vlad. You're, like, the smartest person I know, and we all trust you. If you think this plan'll work, then I know it's going to." The teen smirked and shrugged. "It probably won't happen smoothly 'cause I'm part of the plan (and we know how my luck is) but we'll work through it."

Smirk widening, Danny said, "Improvisation's superhero rule number one, anyway."

Vlad paused for deep thought before glancing back up at Danny again. He matched Danny's smirk as he said, "Oh, really? I thought it was sarcasm and a horrible knack for playing on words."

"That's rules two and three, Vlad," Danny told the man with a mock upset shake of his head. He rolled his eyes and scoffed playfully, "You have so much to learn."

Smile fading, the teen said seriously, "But, honestly, Vlad, the only thing I'm worried about is what you're gonna do to the Collector when everything's all over. I mean...I wanna hurt him so bad, but, then again, getting out of here and destroying his museum is gonna crush him. We both know it. I just hope...that I'll be able to leave here without doing something I regret."

"When I was about your age and first starting to learn martial arts at my boarding school, my teacher gave the class some rules," Vlad said. "One of them was this: while in a fight, be prepared and willing to meet the force of which your opponent is attacking you. So if your attacker only wants to hurt you a little bit, don't go overboard and send him to the hospital. As a better example, if your attacker is willing to kill you, you must be willing to kill him if you want to live."

Pinning Danny with a serious stare, Vlad told him, "The Curator is willing to hurt us physically and mentally. He's willing to get personal by threatening and killing our loved ones. He's trying to take away everything we live for. To be honest, Danny, he's not going to stop until we're either broken or dead. If that is how he is going to play, then we must be willing to take away his power and his museum if we're ever going to win."

Leaning forward, Vlad said, "We need to stop him now, and we need to prevent the Curator from doing this in the future. I'm not going to allow myself to be put through this again. I don't want others to go through this, and I definitely don't want you to go through it too. Understand?"

Danny stayed silent as he took in all that Vlad had told him. It was a lot to process at once, but he knew Vlad was right. It wasn't enough if they got out of the museum alive. They had to make sure the Collector could never do this again to them or anyone else. Because if they didn't stop the Collector here, that was exactly what the ghost was going to do. He would never quit until he was satisfied.

Danny knew he was going to have to step out of his comfort zone for this. The Collector had to be stopped no matter what it took to take him down. That prospect worried the boy, but it wasn't such a daunting task when he knew he had Vlad and the others to back him up. They were all in this together.

Nodding solemnly, and with no trace of uncertainty in his voice, Danny said, "Yes, sir. I understand. We gotta do what we have to do. We gotta stop him."

A brief, sad smile crossed the man's face when receiving the answer. "Good," he said, nodding. He stared off to the side, looking worn and tired after so many exhaustive circumstances that had hit him and the rest of the humans lately. He just wanted a break from it all. For days he had felt like he had been running, and the only thing left to do was to keep running. At the moment, the task seemed daunting.

Pulling himself back into reality, Vlad flashed Danny a playful grin, asking, "And when did you start calling me sir?"

Danny rolled his eyes as he laughed quietly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Knew you'd say something about that," he muttered to himself. The teen straightened up and shrugged, saying with a vague wave of his bad hand, "Like I said, I lost my ability to be respectful to people who _don't_ deserve it."

He flashed a cheeky grin as he added, "I could just call you fruitloop, instead, if you really want me to."

"No, thank you," Vlad chuckled as he got to his feet. "I'm good. Sir is an improvement, and I think I'll stick with that one rather than the one before it, if you don't mind." He paused before muttering, "Although that one is better than Batman...or Vladster, or whatever Ryder chooses to call me. Where he comes up with all those ghastly nicknames, I don't want to know."

"I don't think he even knows," Danny said, thoughtfully glancing towards the ceiling. "I think it just comes out, and he just goes with it like he meant to the whole time." He laughed as he muttered, "At least he uses his powers for good." The boy blinked as he suddenly remembered something else he needed to ask Vlad.

Looking up at the man, Danny said, his hand automatically moving to rub the back of his neck again, "I, uh, actually had one more question." From the arched eyebrow he received, the teen forged on, "You said that you could teach Melody stuff about ghost tech, right? Well, I was kinda wondering if you could teach me some stuff, too. Like ghost power stuff. If you want, I mean. You don't have to. I know we're gonna be busy and everything. I was just wondering."

"Danny," Vlad said with a warm smile, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder, "I would love to teach you. We have plenty of time while we're in our display cases, anyways, so don't worry about it."

A true grin came to the teen's face as he said excitedly, "Awesome!" Quick to assure the man, Danny added, "I'm a fast learner, I promise."

Matching Danny's grin, Vlad said, "Oh, I know that much for sure, but I do want to take it slow at first. I want you healed and healthy more than I want you cocky with fighting knowledge. Got that?"

Danny's smile delved down a little but the eagerness still remained as he nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's fair," he admitted, glancing down at his hand with a wince. Looking back up at Vlad, he said, "Don't worry, though. I should be fine soon. Hey, I might even be able to sleep normally in a couple days! That's a nice thought, right?"

Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad couldn't help but to chuckle a little. The teen was overeager to learn more about his ghost powers and fighting from the man, something Vlad had wanted from Danny since the very start. At that moment, Vlad realized how wrong he had gone about everything before being captured and imprisoned in the museum. Not only had his methods been wrong morally, but they hadn't even began to work correctly. And here it was, just a simple change of heart in the course of a few months, and he had something that he had always wanted. The only difference was the fact that Vlad knew that this method was the right one.

"It is," Vlad said. "Sleep in general is a nice thought, which was exactly what was on my mind before you came in with so many questions."

"...Right," Danny agreed after a pause, forcing away his excitement so that he could stay calm. He took a moment to glance over his shoulder at the door before shaking his head. "I'm not going back out there with Melody and Ryder. I'm pretty sure whatever's happening isn't good. So...let's just call it a night."

The teen lightly nudged Vlad with an elbow as he said, smiling again, "Luckily for you, I'm out of questions for now. At least one of us is gonna get some sleep."

"Hopefully you won't suddenly come down with more of them in the middle of the night," Vlad joked. He started to head over to the bathroom, but he soon paused, turning around to say, "I'm sorry you haven't been able to sleep lately. Is it because of the pain?"

"Um, sorta. It's half the pain," Danny answered, averting his eyes towards the ground. He probably shouldn't have been so loose-lipped about his stupid screwed up sleep cycle. He'd been trying his best to downplay his injuries as much as possible so he didn't worry everybody.

"I read up on concussions at home," the teen tried to explain, hoping to play the whole thing off. A little tweaking of the truth wouldn't hurt anyone. "'Cause it's happened before, y'know? And I remember reading somewhere that you can get your sleep messed up sometimes. It's no big deal. It should fix itself eventually."

"Well," Vlad said, seeing that there wasn't much he could do, "if it gets any worse, don't hesitate to tell me or one of the others. They're thieves. They'll be able to steal you something to make it better, I'm sure. And if you ever need to sleep in the display case, I can always be a look out."

"You'll be the first to know if it gets worse," Danny promised as he floated up into the air to land on the edge of the top bunk. He leaned back a little so he wouldn't lose his balance if he got dizzy and transformed back into his human half, grimacing as all of his dulled pain returned with a vengeance. Trying his best not to show the pain, Danny waved a hand at Vlad and assured him with a forced smile, "I'm fine, Vlad. You worry too much."

"Mmm. I worry just enough," Vlad said quietly. Smiling a little, he said before entering the bathroom, "Goodnight, Danny."

"Night, Vlad," Danny answered as he gingerly leaned back into his pillow and pulled his blanket over him. He smiled briefly at the ceiling before closing his eyes, silently willing himself to go to sleep.

A/N: Kind of cool to see the four finally come together with a plan, especially when looking back to how dysfunctional they used to be. And I love Vlad putting his big brain to use finally. Next chapter, you readers get to see Danny's first training session with Vlad. Fun stuff! See you guys next weekend!


	26. Chapter 26 Teacher and Pupil

A/N: A fun, uplifting, and kinda filler chapter is in store for you readers today. It's one I rather enjoy. I'm the type of dork that actually thinks about how the ghost powers work in the Danny Phantom universe. Usually in fan fictions I don't go into detail when I describe a ghost power unless it pertains to the actual plot, but for this chapter I got to unleash my dork side as Vlad tutors Danny on the basics. Fun stuff. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom character. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Everyone came back from either their punishment or the Infirmary last chapter. Although hearts were aching and morale was at an all time low, Vlad still managed to convince everyone into his final plan of revenge and sabotage. It will take some time, and during that time, Vlad agrees to train Danny with his ghost powers.

Chapter 26 Teacher and Pupil

Folding his arms across his chest, Vlad looked down at Danny and asked, "Where would you like to begin? We can review the basics, or is there some power you would like to focus on?"

Danny looked back up at Vlad, doing his best not to appear too excited. He still felt like crap, but his ghost form was helping. It also helped that Vlad was finally going to teach him something about his ghost powers! Honestly, Danny had been waiting for this for such a long time.

Everything he knew about his powers was what he'd figured out on his own. He'd done pretty good by himself, but now he was finally gonna get help from the one person on the planet who knew exactly what he needed to learn. The teen knew whatever Vlad had to teach him was going to help in the future.

Trying his best to come across as casual, Danny gave a small shrug as he said, "Maybe we should start small and work our way up to the big stuff."

"Alright," Vlad said, nodding. "We'll start with the basics, then. Now, you will probably know most of this, but hopefully reviewing the information will help us get started.

"Let's go over where your power comes from," Vlad went on. Lightly placing a hand on Danny's chest, he told the teen, "All your power comes from here, from your core. Your ghostly core is like your human soul. You tap into it every time you turn ghost and use your powers. It is where all your energy comes and flows from. You probably know already that it feels cold, correct?"

Danny nodded in response, tilting his head a little to the side as he asked, "Do our cores, like, have the same amount of strength in them? Or is yours stronger than mine?"

Vlad leaned back, contemplating the question for a moment. "I...don't know," he answered. "There's not a very legitimate way to test that. I know you gain more control and power over time and with more experience, but I don't know if we're already predisposed with the same limit to our powers or if we have more than one or another.

"Anyways," Vlad continued. "When you're in ghost form and need to access your ectoplasm and ice powers, the energy flows up through your chest and down your arms, collecting into your palms. I know you already know how to keep the power flowing and how to build it up in your palms, but do you know how to control the flow properly and store it up in your arms?"

"Um...I'm gonna have to say no," Danny answered, flashing an abashed smile. He'd honestly never even thought of storing his ghost energy before or actually being able to control it in that manner. The whole prospect just sounded weird to him.

"It kinda sounds like it'd hurt, actually," the teen added, rubbing his upper arm at the thought.

"I can tell you're not enthused about the prospect," Vlad said, trying not to grin. "I assure you, though, it's painless. It's simply energy, and it is yours to control. Storing it at different parts of your arms allows you to shoot ectoplasm without having to dive back into your core. It takes less energy, and sometimes that's crucial in a fight."

Moving to stand by Danny's side, Vlad had to kneel down a little to be at Danny's eye level as he took ahold of the teen's arm. "Now, I want you to start slow. Focus more on the energy's flow than on the end product of ectoplasm at your palm. What I want is for you to make your energy come to about here and stop." Vlad pointed to the middle of Danny's arm, right above the elbow. "We'll start there for now."

"Right," Danny said slowly, staring down at his inner arm with his eyebrows furrowed seriously. He was kinda hoping that if he stared long enough, he'd eventually be able to see the energy that he needed to control. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly work like that.

Releasing a steady breath, Danny reached inside himself to tap into his ghostly core. As usual, he felt an unnatural chill as he made contact, and the feeling instantly began to spread through his body, focusing mainly on his left arm. The teen's frown deepened as his concentrated energy immediately jumped past his arm and collected in his palm, forcing his entire hand to glow green.

"Okay, that's not right," Danny muttered to himself, letting the energy leak away back into his core. The glow left his hand, and the teen squeezed it into a fist as he let out another breath to prepare himself for another go. Once again, he focused back on his inner core, took hold of the energy he needed, and mentally guided it towards his arm.

However, this time it didn't leap into his palm. Like Vlad had said, the energy was actually pretty easy to control once he knew that he could. All he had to do was go slowly at first. Eventually, he knew he'd be able to get the hang of it.

"That's so cool!" Danny exclaimed, glancing up at Vlad with a grin when he'd made the energy halt in his arm just above his elbow. He could literally feel it there, thrumming along silently, ready and waiting to be used.

"Excellent," Vlad said, matching Danny's grin. "You managed to grasp that concept quickly. Now let's try controlling your signature ability: your ice powers. I can only assume the ability is like my electric one, so that means it's more difficult to control and even more to manipulate."

Vlad carefully unleashed his own electric power and let a bit of it flow smoothly into his palm, bringing the hand up for Danny to see. A ball of electricity swirled in the man's palm, crackling maliciously.

"Having control over this power means being precise," Vlad instructed. "It can't be stored up. It has to keep flowing, but it's like a water faucet. You can control the pressure at which it comes out. Having that kind of control gives you the ability to generate this much energy when you want it, all the way to reining it in to the smallest degree as quickly as this." As he uttered his last sentence, the ball of electricity died away and Vlad reached out to Danny's shoulder with the same hand and lightly shocked him.

"Hey!" Danny yelped, jumping in surprise from the tiny but powerful shock. He rubbed his shoulder, shooting a mock glare up at Vlad as he grumbled with a smile, "Jerk."

"Well, I have to keep you awake and focused somehow," Vlad teased. Standing back up to his full height, he said, "Now you try."

Rolling his eyes in pretend annoyance, Danny dropped his gaze as he lifted his hands up and stared into his palms. Slowly, ice crystals began to form across his gloves. The air above his palms crackled a little as the crystals swirled up from his hands. In moments, he had formed a perfectly circular ice ball.

Danny's eyes flashed blue momentarily as he focused in on the crystallized sphere. He knew what he wanted to do to it. He just had to concentrate. Though the transformation wasn't as smooth or as quick as Vlad's had been, Danny's ice ball morphed into a small slush ball just like he'd wanted it to.

Grinning deviously, Danny glanced at Vlad before throwing the slush ball at him without warning. As it splattered against his chest, the teen innocently said, "Whoops."

"Hey!" Vlad shouted in surprise, taking a step away. Looking down at his now wet jumpsuit, Vlad shook his head and suppressed a chuckle. "You did that on purpose," he reprimanded with a grin. "For that, I want you to try this again. This time, make a bigger ball of ice and make it smaller faster. Go."

Looking highly pleased at getting his revenge, Danny focused back on his palms with a victorious smile. The ice ball was easier to make this time around, and it shrunk a lot quicker, too. It still wasn't fluid, but it was definitely an improvement. Glancing off to the side, Danny 'accidentally' let his ball of slush roll out of his palms to land on Vlad's boots with an impressive _splatting_ sound.

"Darn, I am so clumsy," Danny reprimanded himself with a fast shake of his head. He couldn't pull the grin off his face as he looked up at Vlad again for his reaction.

"Oh, really?" Vlad said as he shook the slush off his boots, careful not to slip on the sloshy floor. Leaning toward Danny with is hand outstretched, the man said, "Maybe a little electrotherapy will fix all that."

"Doubtful," Danny shot back with a challenging smirk. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the man's "threatening" antics. Maybe it would've scared him a little before, but now he just thought it was funny that Vlad was trying to sound scary. Danny trusted that the man wouldn't hurt him on purpose.

The teen kept his eyebrow arched as he added with a laugh, "And if you're trying to be scary, I think you lost your touch, Vlad."

Vlad dropped both his smile and his hand, giving Danny a calculating frown. Putting his hands on his hips, the man sported a sardonic grin as he muttered, "And yet your impertinent attitude has yet to diminish."

Smirk growing into a grin, Danny matched Vlad's posture as he calmly replied, "Well, one of us has to stay consistent, Vlad. Might as well be me." He pointed at the man, accusing him with a wide smile, "Don't even pretend you don't like it, either. I know you."

Doing his best not to laugh, Danny teasingly told Vlad as he crossed his arms over his chest, "You're just mad that you won't be able to scare small children away from you anymore."

"Yes, that _must_ be it," Vlad said sarcastically, repressing another chuckle. "Looks like my infant terrorizing days are over. Quite a shame. This might put me into a depression if we're not careful."

"Don't worry, Vlad," Danny quickly consoled the man, still grinning cheekily. "We can find you a new hobby. Like...scaring small animals instead. Or knitting! I bet you'd be a great knitter. You could make sweaters and everything."

Vlad couldn't keep his laughter in at that point. He lasted for a few more seconds before releasing a chuckle and shaking his head in amusement. "Honestly, knitting?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "What? Am I the equivalent of an old grandma now that my child scaring days are behind me? I thought at least the invigorating hobby of collecting postage stamps would come before the knitting. Or maybe even coin collecting. How exciting would that be?"

"I'm getting lightheaded just thinking about it," Danny automatically agreed, giving a firm nod as he bit down on his own laughter. The boy punched Vlad lightly in the arm as he said with a grin, "C'mon, Vlad. You know knitting things is the safest way to go. Your poor, old heart can't handle too much excitement now."

"You can not be serious," Vlad said, giving the teen a little playful shove. "You know how I fight. If I really wanted to, I could defeat you within seconds. Don't deny that. That's not an accomplishment an old man could make, just as a reminder."

Seeing that he'd hit on a soft spot, Danny's teasing grin only managed to get bigger. It was time to go in for the kill. The teen held up his hands as he said, "Whoa there, Vlad. No need to get so defensive. You know how confused you get when you miss your afternoon nap."

Flabbergasted yet oddly amused, Vlad held up a finger and grinned as he said adamantly, "These old jokes need to stop. I'm not old. I'm your parents' age, for goodness sake."

Danny could only shake his head sadly back at Vlad as he replied, "Oh, man, your mind must be getting worse, Vlad. You think that being my parents' age means you're not old."

"Hey, being 45 doesn't make you old," Vlad tried to defend himself. Smirking, he added, "You'll be saying the same thing when you're that age."

"So that'll make you...what? 80 something?" Danny shot back, grinning even as he did his best to sound innocent. Messing with the man was just way too much fun. It was a nice relief from the past couple of days. Not to mention, Vlad totally deserved to be teased unmercifully.

"Grandpa Vlad," the teen went on, nodding slowly as he stared off to the side as if gazing into the future. "I can see it now..."

Vlad glanced in the direction Danny was staring off into then returned his narrowed gaze back on the teen, a thin frown on his face to express how nonplussed he was over the matter. He didn't appreciate being called old, especially from someone so young, but the man had to admit he was enjoying himself. And from the looks of it, Danny was too.

"You know what else is archaic?" Vlad asked, folding his arms across his chest. "Your old jokes. Don't exhaust your limited supply of witticisms while you are ahead."

Just as Danny was about to answer back with another sharp retort, the teen's eyes caught movement outside their display case window. The ghosts outside that had been clamoring to get a glimpse at them all seemed to move on to the next display as one. Unfortunately, their absence was replaced by the smirking form of the Collector on one of his afternoon rounds.

Danny felt his expression pale a little, and he gritted his teeth as the ghost came to a leisurely halt outside their window, remaining silent for the moment as the inspected them. Because Vlad's back was facing the window, Danny knew he was the only one to see him at the moment.

Worried eyes flicking up to Vlad's, the teen whispered, "_He's_ there, Vlad."

"I suspected that much," Vlad whispered back. He had noticed the switch in the teen's body language, knowing enough that something behind him had gone wrong. It was as if a switch had been flipped, turning the good mood into one of instant and acute anxiety.

"Alright," Vlad said quietly. "Don't make eye contract with him, and let's see what he does. How about we walk over to the wall over there, ignoring him slightly as we talk. Pick a subject. Anything will do."

Although all Danny wanted to do was glare at the ghost, he resisted and nodded to what Vlad had said. The teen lowered his head just a little, dropping his eyes to stare at the floor as he mumbled, "I got three hours of sleep last night. I remember having this dream about being back home in my room. It...it was really nice."

Danny was acutely aware of the Collector's eyes on him, but he kept his eyes on the floor and his shoulders hunched. He hated this pretending thing already.

Arriving at the wall, the two half ghosts turned and leaned against it. Still keeping their stares averted from the Collector, Vlad muttered, "I believe any bed other than that slab of cardboard deemed as a mattress would be considered nice."

"Yeah," Danny agreed softly with a small nod. He knew just how pathetic he probably looked, and he hated every moment of it. He could just feel the enjoyment the Collector was feeling at seeing their dismal appearances.

And, as if on cue, the ghost cleared his throat. "Pardon my...intrusion," the Collector began languidly, leaning forward slightly as he clasped his hands comfortably behind his back. "But I am rather curious as to how my halfas are doing this fine day. How're you feeling, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny momentarily peeked up at Vlad before dropping his eyes again, mumbling as he turned his head away from the ghost, "Fine."

Raising a fine eyebrow, the Collector turned towards Vlad. "And you, Mr. Masters?" he questioned curiously.

Vlad nodded, not even bothering to look up at the Collector as he said quietly, "Good."

The Collector stared back at the two half-ghosts, pleasantly stunned. He didn't know how to respond at first. Were they really...? The ghost narrowed his eyes, a small smile drifting to his face as he examined them critically. He had become quite talented at reading the humans since they had been brought here. It was something he had begun to pride himself in.

And, from what he could see, they were behaving just as he had wanted them to for so long. Chuckling softly, the ghost murmured, "_Look at me, halfas_." The Collector waited until his audience had been forced to meet his gaze before he continued, "I know something is wrong. You can not fool me so easily. You can not hide your defeat from me." His smile widened as he darkly said, "You have given up, haven't you?"

Vlad forced himself to swallow, one of the well known signs of showing fear. He nodded, hoping Danny would do the same. Although he hated the smug smirk on the ghost's face, Vlad knew the ploy was working, and he was willing to demean himself just for a little while before ultimately taking his revenge.

Taking Vlad's cue, Danny nodded as well and inched a step closer to the man as if he needed him for protection against the Collector's possible wrath. He knew the move would amuse the ghost, and he was right.

The Collector's sickly smile stretched wider, and he shook his head slowly. "Oh, I knew one day you would come to your senses," he told them, voice practically oozing arrogance. "It took more prodding than I would've liked, but, well, what should I have expected from such worthy opponents?"

Leaning an arm casually against the glass, the Collector pinned his stare on Vlad and smirked. "Mr. Masters, do tell me what it was that swayed your decision. I must admit that I am awfully curious. What could I have possibly done to make you see reason?"

Vlad had to mentally remind himself not to react in defiance as he gritted his teeth and was tempted to curl his hands into fists. Keeping his eyes on the ground as he swiftly pondered an answer, Vlad thought with an inward, acrid chuckle, _This is a lot harder than I made it out to be. I guess it is time to see if I have any acting skills._

Looking back up at the Collector but not directly into his white gaze, Vlad said quietly, "You threatened my uncle and everyone else's loved ones. And I can't...I can't put Danny through that kind of punishment anymore."

"Oh, how sweet," the Collector mockingly cooed, pursing his lips as he tilted his head to the side. By the vile grin he was shooting the two half-ghosts, it was easy to see just how entertained he was. "Sacrificing your freedom for the good of the group. Why, Mr. Masters, who knew you were such a martyr?"

Snapping his gaze to Danny, the ghost practically purred, "And what do you think of that, Mr. Fenton?"

The teen wanted to glare so badly, but he stopped himself. Instead, he made sure he looked as broken and weak as he truly felt in his human form. Scrutinizing the floor, Danny answered in a shaky voice, "I...I don't want you to hurt me anymore. Please don't...don't hurt me again." Just to put the pathetic icing on their pitiful cake, Danny stepped closer to Vlad and hugged the man around the waist, hiding his face against his side as if he couldn't even look at the Collector anymore.

Taking the bait hook, line, and sinker, the ghost laughed softly and straightened up. "This is just too rich," he chuckled to himself.

Wrapping an arm around the teen's shoulders, Vlad forced himself not to react to the obvious bait the Collector was dangling in front of them as he kept his gaze on the floor a few feet ahead of him. One side of Vlad wanted to shoot the ghost a deadly glare of stubborn resistance; the other half reveled in the clear fact that his plan was working greater than he had anticipated. It was only the later that kept Vlad poised yet submissive.

"Well," the Collector said, brushing a hand across his smoothed back hair. He smiled to himself, looking more than pleased by the crushing silence that answered him from the display case. "It is encouraging to see that humans have the ability to learn their place in my museum. This makes everything so much easier."

The ghost paused, his nefarious smirk turning downright nasty as he arched an eyebrow. "I'm sure you two will be happy to know that, because of your current state, I believe I am going to...expand upon my human collection. Any suggestions for your new cellmates?"

The Collector's eyes searched out Vlad's gaze, silently challenging the man to speak. "Perhaps a set of children?" he suggested coolly. "Or maybe a pair of...to put it mildly, hardened criminals." Chuckling softly, he murmured, "I have yet to decide, my halfas. There are just...so many choices."

Vlad pressed his lips together, but that was his only reaction to the Collector's little jibe as he continued to stare at the ground. He gave Danny's shoulder a quick squeeze, hoping again the teen would keep his temper and defiance under check just this once.

Danny responded by digging his hands into Vlad's shirt as he gritted his teeth furiously. Everything inside of him wanted to spin around and scream at the Collector for his utterly immoral behavior, but he knew Vlad needed him to be quiet. He couldn't screw their plan up when it was so clearly working. It took all of his willpower to swallow his pride and remain silent.

The Collector's gaze hovered over Danny for a moment longer as if he was waiting for a response he wasn't going to receive before he shook his head and smirked. "Well, I suppose I will let you think about it for now," he said, turning away from the glass. He paused for a moment before adding with an outright grin, "I have your friends to visit next, after all."

With that said, the ghost strode away, heading towards Melody and Ryder's display case. Danny waited for several seconds before he murmured to Vlad, his breathing elevated from anger, "Is he gone?"

Letting Danny go and releasing a relieved sigh, Vlad responded, "Thankfully, yes. He's gone." Folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the wall again, Vlad murmured, "Assuming what he just told us is true, we need to implement the plan before he kidnaps more humans. More numbers only complicates things. It could all end in disaster if he chooses to capture people like he just mentioned."

"Yeah," Danny agreed softly, grimacing at the thought of having to live in that tiny cabin with a pair of murderous psychopaths. Of course, the Collector would only get the best if he wanted to add criminals to his displays. Striving to stay positive and rid himself of the pathetic way he was feeling, Danny said, "But...at least it'll probably take him a while to figure out what he wants. And then he'd have to leave to go watch them like he did for us. That could take weeks."

Rolling his shoulders uncomfortably, Danny muttered, "Man, that was hardest thing I think I've had to do since coming here. I still feel kinda pathetic."

"If it makes you feel any better, I do too," Vlad said, forcing a wry smile to his face for Danny's sake. "But you did fine. The Curator bought the act, and that's what matters most. Now, I can only hope the others will be able to do the same."

"You kidding?" Danny instantly answered, flashing a grin of his own after a pause. "Asking those two to work together to be overdramatic is like asking the Box Ghost to be annoying. It just happens."

The teen's smile became more natural as his own words surprisingly comforted him. Hoping to continue with the good mood he was feeling, Danny nudged Vlad's arm and added with a smirk, "What'd I say about worrying so much?"

Vlad stared out into the hallway beyond the glass wall, allowing himself a small chuckle. "I know what you told me," the man said, "But my response will remain the same. I worry just enough. It's only in my nature."

"Yeah," Danny murmured, following Vlad's gaze to stare out into the hallway as the guests began to slowly return to look at them. Smirking deviously, the teen quietly added in a flippant manner, "Just enough to strain your old, weakened heart if you're not careful."

Slowly turning his head to glare down at the teen, Vlad said, "You're not going to give up on that subject so soon, are you?" In a surly mutter the man looked ahead and grumbled, "For all I know, the others will be calling me grandpa by the time we escape." Quickly looking back at Danny at such a horrible thought voiced aloud, Vlad said, "That wasn't a suggestion, just so you know."

"Hmm, I don't know," Danny argued, looking thoughtful as he rubbed his chin. Pointing up at the man, he continued, "It kinda sounded like a suggestion, Grandpa-I mean, Vlad."

The boy sent Vlad an innocent grin that didn't appear innocent at all because he actually knew how un-innocent the teenager could really be.

"If you weren't so pathetic looking, I would probably give you a good jolt of electricity right about now," Vlad snapped back half teasingly. Strolling away from the wall, the man added offhandedly, "Besides, I can't be called a grandpa if I don't even have any kids of my own to provide me grandkids, so there must be something wrong with your logic concerning that nickname."

Danny had been seconds away from retorting with something along the lines of changing the nickname to 'Great-Uncle Vlad', but he stopped to cross his arms indignantly over his chest. "I don't look pathetic," he defended himself in something similar to a pout.

Looking down at the floor and, adversely making himself look more pitiful, the teen said, "I'm an intimidating force to be reckoned with, thanks. The bruises just make me more scary and tough."

Seeing he had hit a nerve, Vlad turned around and slowly stepped backwards as he said with a ruthless grin, "You must be joking, boy. I'm afraid I must agree with Mr. Walker on this one. You look like a poor orphaned street urchin. It's downright pitiful."

Danny remained silent for several moments. He was actually having an extremely hard time thinking up a comeback to that, but he didn't want Vlad to know. In the end, he just decided to go with it. There was no point in denying that he looked bad, anyway. He'd avoided looking in the mirror for the past few days, but he just knew Vlad was telling the truth, even if he was just teasing.

Looking up at the man, Danny put on his saddest, most pathetic look to date, making sure that his eyes were wide and watery looking as he murmured, "Do you think people would give me money if they saw me?"

"If the Curator allowed us to beg in the hallways, you would make a fortune," Vlad said, laughing a little at Danny's overdramatic attempt to look adorably hopeless.

Forcing himself not to smile at the man's remark, Danny answered in the smallest voice he could muster, "Then I could tell my parents that I got a summer job while I was away."

"Yes. A nice, lucrative job as a punching bag, perhaps," Vlad said as he stopped in the middle of the room and put his hands on his hips. "I mean, if they haven't figured out you are part ghost by now, I don't believe why they would ever doubt the summer job lie as well."

Danny frowned a little, dropping the pathetic act as he glanced away from Vlad. The man had hit on a sore spot with that comment. Sometimes, Danny was truly relieved his parents hadn't caught on to his secret because he was afraid of how they would react, but other times...it upset him that they hadn't figured it out yet.

It wasn't like he was a master liar. And their ghost tech was always going off around him. If Jazz had figured out his secret...why couldn't they?

"They're just...busy," Danny quietly answered himself, keeping his eyes averted from Vlad's as he rubbed his upper arm. He felt the need to try and defend his parents. No matter how hard a feat that was. "They get distracted easily...that's all. I'm sure they'd notice if...if they weren't so busy."

Vlad's smile faded as he saw Danny's entire demeanor turn solemn. He mentally kicked himself for bringing up the sore subject. Somehow he knew his words could have pushed things too far, yet he had broken his own boundaries anyways without so much as blinking. Maybe it had been a natural reaction. For many months he had cut Danny down with his words like it was his favorite game. Vlad could only hope he would rid himself of that kind of backlash reaction someday as he sighed and prepared to fix the current situation.

"You're right. They are busy," he said quietly, slowly walking back toward the teen. "They are one of very few people out there discovering more about ghosts and how to defend humans from them. Despite your father's...faults, I have to admit he knows what he's doing for the most part when it comes down to inventing ghostly technology. And your mother, well, she's a genius. Naturally, they have a lot of work to do together. Before both Jasmine and you were born, they traveled all over the world. Wherever they were called, they went.

"They only built that lab in the basement after you were born, you know that?" Vlad went on. "It allowed them to have a base of operations. I'm sure they didn't necessarily want to or had to settle down, but they did. They wanted a stable environment for their kids. For you."

"No," Danny mumbled, shaking his head slowly as he dragged his fist across his cheek. He hated that he was getting teary-eyed right now after joking about it only moments ago, but he couldn't help it. What Vlad had said meant so much. Maybe more than the man even knew. "I didn't know that. I guess...I guess there's a lot of things I don't know about them."

"And that's alright," Vlad said with a slight smile. "You're like what? 15 now? That is not nearly enough to know a lot about your parents. Furthermore, you're a teenager. The last thing your parents suspect from you is a dire wish to know everything about their lives and past decisions. I'll tell you this much, though, you might be surprised how interesting their lives have been."

Danny finally looked up at Vlad, scrubbing at his cheek again just to make sure it wasn't obvious that he wanted to cry. He hadn't yet, but he was worried that he was getting there. It was still shocking that now, when he was upset, he actually had someone to comfort him.

"Maybe I should ask them," the boy suggested, giving a small, timid smile at the thought. "When we get out of here. They might like that." His smile slowly dimmed, eyebrows furrowing as he softly murmured, "I'm a good liar, right, Vlad?" He stared at the man in an almost pleading way. "That's why they haven't figured it out...right?"

Scratching the back of his head with his lips pressed together, Vlad didn't respond right away. He didn't exactly feel very comfortable at the moment, but he knew he'd have to say something encouraging to Danny that wasn't a complete and outright lie. After a moment of thought, Vlad finally decided to just go with what his gut was telling him to say.

"Danny," he started, "I'm not your parents. I don't know the exact reason why they haven't figured your ghost secret out by now. It may not be just one reason but many reasons combined together. They're busy and distracted, and your father isn't particularly amazing with his deductive skills. Despite all that, I believe that maybe one of the main reasons behind their ignorance might be that they trust you too much. You're their son. To suspect you've turned into something they think is their enemy is probably something that would never cross their minds. They would really have to see you transform right in front of them for them to truly believe you're half ghost."

Danny stayed quiet as he thought it over. What Vlad said did make sense. His parents had always trusted him. He wasn't a bad kid, and he'd given them no reasons at all not to trust him. Not to mention, it didn't really make sense that he had become a ghost. Even with all their experience, his parents had never come across anything like him or Vlad.

In the end, Danny knew that if he ever wanted his parents to know he was part ghost, he'd just have to show them. As of right now, he wasn't ready for that. But...maybe some day he would. When he was ready, he'd show them.

Nodding slowly, Danny said, "Yeah...you're right, Vlad." The teen met the man's eyes again, flashing another timid smile. "I'm gonna show them...one day. Not now or-or in a few months. I don't exactly know when, but I'm gonna do it. When I do...do you wanna show them with me?"

The question hit Vlad from out of the blue. He recoiled slightly, as if the surprise actually hit him physically. Releasing a long, stressful sigh as he searched for a sensitive answer to placate the teen, Vlad stared out of the glass wall in thought. Finally, after realizing Danny didn't deserve to be treated like he was something fragile, Vlad looked back down at the teen and said honestly, "That is a question I can not answer at the moment."

Danny nodded in understanding. Showing his parents that he was a half-ghost was a big step for Vlad. The teen didn't expect him to have an answer right away. He was fully prepared to take baby steps when it came down to helping turn Vlad's life in a different direction. The man had already changed so much from what he once was. Danny had no doubts that he was going to stay on the good path.

"It's okay," Danny said quietly, offering the man another small smile. "You don't have to know right now. You don't have to tell them ever if you want. I promise that I won't say anything even when I tell them that I'm a half-ghost. But...if you ever want to." The boy patted Vlad's arm comfortingly as he said, "I'm here."

Face expressionless, Vlad stared down at Danny for a moment in another bout of pondering until relinquishing a smile. "Thank you," he finally said. Clearing his throat after a short pause, Vlad asked, "Well, do you want to continue your training? I believe we have around an hour left till lunch. That gives us plenty of time."

The teen's expression brightened up at the change of subject and the thought of being able to use his powers. He instantly decided to grab hold of the new direction of conversation and run with it.

"Yeah, let's do that," Danny readily agreed, bouncing a little in place with excitement. "We didn't get very far before you got off track trying to be scary," the boy told Vlad with a teasing grin.

"Since we're playing the blame game now, I'll go ahead and say it was the fault of the teenager flinging half melted snowballs at his teacher that distracted everyone so much," Vlad shot back.

"What is with you old people and always blaming us teenagers for everything?" Danny answered, raising his chin as if he was deeply offended. The childish smile on his face quickly dashed away any suspicions that he was actually upset, though. "And, for the record, it wasn't a half melted snowball. It was a slush ball...a lot like this!"

As he finished the shout, Danny whipped his hands out from behind his back and splattered Vlad right in the face with another slushy ball of snow.

With an acrid smirk on his lips, Vlad shook off some of the water on his head by shaking it. He tried not to grimace as he felt a cold chunk of ice slide down his neck and continue through his shirt. "Oh, ho," Vlad chuckled as he stepped away from Danny and got into a fighting stance. "You just made this training lesson a lot harder for yourself, boy."

Rosy colored ectoplasm power collected in the man's hands as he said, "Lesson two: ghost shields." Throwing two quick, consecutive blasts at the teen, he said with a grin, "Let's see how fast you can make one."

Instead of creating a ghost shield like he was supposed to, Danny let out a surprised squeak of alarm and plastered himself against the wall to avoid the blasts. He literally felt them brush past his face before fizzling into nothing against the door of the far wall.

The teen knew the blasts hadn't been exceptionally strong, but it was just his natural reaction to dodge before he thought. Raising his eyes back to Vlad, Danny pulled himself away from the wall and muttered, "Someone can't take a joke." He flashed another cheeky grin as he added, "And isn't this lesson 3, technically?"

"We previously went over basic power information, and now we're moving onto shields...which you obviously don't have too much of a grasp on. It's a very similar condition to your slipping purchase on numbers," Vlad said as he walked slowly back and forth in front of Danny, gradually creating another ectoplasm ball in one hand while holding the other behind his back. "Maybe we should commandeer Miss Hart to teach you some math skills."

Danny narrowed his eyes back at Vlad as he followed the man's every movement with a competitive smirk on his face. Vlad was obviously trying to rile him up like he was notorious for doing. And that just managed to motivate Danny even more to want to do his very best in this training session. At first, he'd just wanted to do well to show that he could, but now he wanted to impress Vlad...and, also, make him eat his words.

"Oh, ha, real funny, Vlad," the teen said sarcastically after forcing a short laugh. "Make fun of the kid with the concussion. Real funny."

"Hey, you called me decrepit, so I called your counting abilities inept," Vlad reasoned with a grin. "Fair is fair. Now, your shield should come naturally. I don't want you dodging attacks anymore unless it is a strategic movement in the fight or if you know the attack's impact with the shield will be too harsh. Instead, when an attack comes toward you, your very first reaction must be a shield."

With that said, Vlad quickly threw another ectoplasm blast at the teen.

Although Danny still really wanted to dodge the blast, he didn't move from where he stood. He quickly raised both hands up and created a strong, green shield from the energy he'd been storing up in his arms like Vlad had showed him. Surprisingly, the shield snapped into existence way faster than he was used to and actually caused the ecto-blast to ricochet back at Vlad like a tennis ball hit by a racket.

Vlad had to move fast as he took a step back while swiping his hand through the air, conjuring a small, swift shield of his own. The ball fizzled out of existence the second it hit the transparent wall, and soon the shield followed suit. Stepping back into a more relaxed position, Vlad raised an eyebrow at the teen.

"That was the quickest shield I've seen you make as of yet," he said, trying not to sound too impressed. "You used the storage technique, didn't you?" Vlad waited until Danny opened his mouth to answer until flinging two simultaneous blasts in hopes of surprising the teen.

"Yeah, I- jerk!" Danny broke off as he had to fly backwards to give himself enough time to produce another shield to stop the attacks. His back slammed into the door, but he kept his focus on the ecto energy as he raised his hand in front of his body and conjured up another shield. Once again, this shield was strong and fast, forcing the blasts to bounce off to different sides and fizzle out of existence against the display case walls.

Looking down at his hands, Danny couldn't help but grin. Vlad had only shown him one, little technique, and his powers were already better because of it. The boy turned his smile up to Vlad, unsure of what to say. The look of excitement on his face seemed to say enough.

"Good," Vlad said, nodding. Although Vlad knew Danny was excited and doing more than just good, the man didn't want to serve out too many compliments in fear that the teen would get too cocky. "I believe you have the technique down. It will take time and practice to seal this kind of instant reaction as something you naturally do. It should eventually become like muscle memory, but we can work on that sort of thing later.

"Now, let's move on to controlling the shape and size of your shield," Vlad continued. He raised one hand and summoned a shield in the shape of a simple square. "You need to move past creating only domes for yourself every time you want a shield. While they are perfect for protection, they cost too much energy sometimes, and they lack flexibility.

"Take this square for instance." Vlad slowly moved his index finger around, and the shield followed the movement in the air as if the two were connected by some invisible string. "I can move it wherever I wish. I can even make it go forward and sideways, which is an excellent tool for when you want to hit your opponent with something or as a defense for, let's say, your friends who are being attacked."

Focusing his stare on his shield, Vlad said as he began to change the shape of the object, "Really, it can be whatever shape you wish." In mere seconds, Vlad had changed his shield's shape to a heart, circle, sphere, triangle, and even a box. Returning to the square, Vlad said, "My preference, though, is something simple." Nodding towards Danny, Vlad said, "Go ahead and try it yourself now."

Danny nodded back at Vlad, raising his hands again to focus on what he needed to do. He knew Vlad didn't sound too thrilled with what he'd done so far and that was just more motivation to try even harder to succeed.

The teen bit down on his bottom lip, eyebrows furrowing in concentration as he formed a shield in front of his hands. It didn't really have a shape at first. It was just more of a large, green blob which wasn't what Danny wanted at all. _C'mon, square_, the boy mentally told the shield, frowning heavily as he moved his hands to try and form the energy the way he wanted. _Square, square, square_.

Slowly but surely, the energy began to waver around the edges less as it took shape. Danny used his hands again to condense the large shield until it was about the size of his head. With one, last mental order, the energy seemed to morph itself into a pretty solid looking square.

Panting softly from exertion, Danny moved the shield up and down by lifting his left hand in the same directions. The boy let out a laugh, continuing to play with his little, green square as he said, "Oh, man, so cool."

With his hands loosely clasped behind his back, Vlad walked forward to inspect the shield more closely. He didn't admit it aloud, but the man was impressed by what he saw. Sure, it took roughly ten full minutes for Danny to get his shield in the shape of a simple square, but Vlad remembered the same thing took him at least a month to perform.

Then again, Vlad never had a teacher or a single kind of example to fashion his powers after. He had to learn and teach himself everything on his own. Those had been hard years of constant discipline, dedication, and practice, but he knew they had paid off at the end. He was glad to finally be someone of influence and help now to someone who needed and looked like he very much appreciated it.

Flicking the shield with one hand to test its strength, Vlad smiled a little when he met resistance and didn't break the thin wall. "You were right," Vlad finally submitted as he met Danny's eyes with a grin. "You are a fast learner."

Danny returned the man's smile tenfold. Compliments from Vlad were very hard to come by, even now when he was nice, but the boy figured that was what made them so meaningful. If Vlad told him that everything he did was amazing, it wouldn't mean as much to him each time he heard it.

Though the teen really wanted to say '_I told you so_,' he resisted and, instead, went for the more sincere approach. It was the least he could do considering how appreciative he felt at the moment.

"I think I just have a really good teacher," Danny replied with a genuine grin, hoping that Vlad knew he meant every word. The man seemed to have a natural talent at teaching.

Vlad raised both eyebrows, his grin widening at the compliment. He felt a swell of gratification rise up in his chest. Nudging the teen with his elbow, the man said in a quiet, secretive mumble, "That is only because I'm terrifically old."

Danny couldn't help but let out a surprised laugh at the comment. Honestly, that was the last thing he'd been expecting the man to say, and he was pleasantly shocked.

"Just remember," the teen retorted with an impressive smile. "Those are your words, not mine."

Delighted that he finally got the teen to outright laugh, Vlad said, "Yes, and hopefully you won't remember. Although I'm not keeping my hopes up for that sort of a miracle."

"Well, it does involve numbers," Danny conceded, nodding along to what he was saying as if he truly believed it. "So there's still hope I could forget. Maybe I might confuse 45 with 24 or something."

The teen's smile diminished a little as he looked up at Vlad and murmured, "But seriously, Vlad. Thanks for showing me all this. I know you didn't have to. I just want you to know that it...it means a lot to me, and I can't wait to learn more."

"Like I told you last night," Vlad said, "I enjoy teaching you what I know. I'm glad you appreciate it so much, and I want to thank you for, well, actually listening to my advice." Placing a hand on Danny's shoulder, the man told him with a warm smile, "You're a good kid, Danny."

Danny's slight smile returned as he said quietly, "Thanks, Vlad. I...I really do try." He almost hugged the man right then and there, but stopped himself at the last moment. He had initiated way too many hugs in the past few days. Instead, he chuckled a little and muttered, "I'd have to be a complete idiot not to listen to you. And I don't think I've reached that point just yet."

"Let's not give our hopes up just yet," Vlad teased. Nodding sideways, he swiftly got back down to business as he ordered, "Now, I want to see another shield like the first. Try to make it faster this time. Go ahead."

A/N: Well, next weekend I really want to do another double post. Besides that announcement, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you awesome readers next weekend.


	27. Chapter 27 Treasure Hunt

A/N: Sorry for the bit of delay this weekend. It's been a hard week for ML and myself. Anyways, we really appreciate your reviews! Besides that, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Not much happened last chapter. Simply put, Vlad taught Danny some more ghost moves to use in the future and they had some cute bonding time.

Chapter 27 Treasure Hunt

Danny was finally sleeping. After several hours of fruitless attempts, he was finally asleep. Sure, he hadn't really wanted to try and go take a nap in the middle of the day, but after Vlad and pretty much everyone else nagging at him to go do it, he'd finally given in and decided to try it.

He never would've suspected that it'd actually work. Maybe it was ten times easier to sleep when Ryder wasn't snoring like a happy cow beside him.

Unfortunately, his very comfortable, very light sleep didn't last for long.

It started out soft. There was a quiet buzzing sound in his ears, but instead of going silent, it only seemed to be getting louder. The buzzing turned into the sound of tiny bells, and the tiny bells quickly turned into an obnoxious ringing that didn't stopped.

Danny was wrenched from the dreamless sleep he'd been enjoying as the ringing noise just became too annoying. He groaned as his eyes snapped open and all of his human aches and pains assaulted his senses. Grimacing, the boy placed his hands overs his ears to stop the sound, but it didn't work. Where was the sound even coming from, anyway?

The teen's eyes widened in fear as he realized that the most likely source of the sound was his own head. Maybe his concussion had taken a turn for the worst and that was why his ears were ringing.

With that scary thought in mind, Danny carefully slid out of bed and hurried over to the door, his face pinching up as the sound only worsened when he walked across the floor. The boy didn't hesitate to open the cabin door and peek out of it, eyes landing on their group. They were in their normal spots in the picnic area, talking about who knows what.

"Vlad?" Danny called over to the man, his worry evident in his voice. He waited until Vlad had looked up at him before he added quietly, "I think something's wrong..."

Looking back at Melody, Vlad gave the girl an apologetic smile and shrug. They had been intensely discussing ghost technology, especially coding for ghost signatures which she would need to know if she wanted to give the command to open all the doors to the museum. A little diagram had been made on the plate of mush between them. Slowly it had degenerated over time as a more than bored Ryder stole little bites of the food when the two weren't paying attention.

"Go ahead and see what's wrong," Melody said with a wave of her hand. "It's not like I'm going anywhere or have anything else to do."

Vlad gave her a nod of thanks before frowning at Ryder and telling him as he stood, "I'll advise you to stop eating the illustration, Mr. Walker. It might give you indigestion."

That said, Vlad turned and walked over to the cabin where Danny was. As he neared the door, the man asked, "What is the matter?"

Danny anxiously chewed on his bottom lip when the ringing sound only seemed to get louder. What could that possibly mean? Whatever the meaning was, the teen knew that it couldn't possibly be good. Pushing the door open all the way, the teen answered worriedly, "I think there's something wrong with my head. I keep hearing this ringing sound in my ears, and it won't go away. I think, maybe, my concussion's not healing right...or something."

Walking into the room, Vlad strolled to the middle of the cabin while slowly looking around in perplexity. "No," he said offhandedly. "I believe you're fine. I can hear the ringing too. It sounds like...an alarm of some kind, but it's muffled." He moved over toward one of the dresser sets nearby and started to ruffle through the clothing, saying over his shoulder, "Come on. Help me pin point where it is coming from so we can find whatever it is and stop it."

Danny paused for a moment, letting out a relieved sigh before he moved to the other side of the room and tried to find where the sound was coming from. "This is so weird," the teen murmured, leaning down to press his ear up against his own dresser to see if it was the one making the sound. When he decided it wasn't, he moved on. "You think the Collector's messing with us or something?"

Just as Vlad was about to answer, Ryder appeared in the doorway. "Hey, I heard that annoying ringing sound from the picnic tables," the thief explained, his expression caught somewhere in between nervousness and confusion. He moved into the room as well and went to stand beside his bed as he glanced at Danny and Vlad and asked, "What's goin' on?"

"Vlad thinks there's an alarm in here somewhere," Danny answered, opening the closet door to look inside of it. He didn't glance back at Ryder as he muttered, "I think the Collector's messing with us."

_Thump_.

Danny stopped what he was doing and peered back at Ryder, raising an eyebrow as he silently questioned what that sound had been. It sounded a lot like someone stomping their foot against the floorboards. Flashing a twitchy smile, the thief said, "Sounds like something he'd do."

"On any normal day, I would have to agree," Vlad said as he finished with his dresser and marched across the room to look into Ryder's, "but lately he has been rather satisfied with our submissive actions. There would be no need for him to-."

Vlad stopped at Ryder's dresser, turned, and retraced his steps until he was back at the middle of the room. "Right here," the man said as he looked up then down at the dirty rug he was standing on. "Right here is where it is the loudest."

"You sure?" Ryder said, staring down at the rug intensely. He glanced up at Vlad as he continued, "I don't think so. I think it's coming from somewhere over there." He pointed towards the far side of the room for emphasis. "Yeah, over there. Definitely...definitely not there where you're standing."

Vlad shot Ryder a scrutinizing stare, finally picking up on the man's nervous body language. Vlad didn't know why he hadn't seen it before. Ryder's frantic smile, quivering voice inflections, and purposefully wrong and overdramatic pointing instructions all led to lying, and Vlad didn't like any of it.

Frowning deeply as he kept his glare on Ryder, Vlad stepped off the rug and flung it to the side. There was a painfully obvious X marking the spot on the floorboards drawn out in chalk underneath the rangy piece of cloth, as if alluding to some kind of buried treasure. Unfortunately, Vlad didn't feel very much like a pirate upon the discovery. Instead, he felt an old kind of boiling anger roll within him as he stared down at the spot, hands curling into fists.

Danny followed Vlad's gaze, and he stared down at the X in complete astonishment. "What the heck?" he muttered, stepping forward to inspect the spot on the floor. The closer he got, the louder the noise became. There was no doubt about it. Whatever was underneath the floorboards was where the noise was coming from. But that begged the question as to why there was an X scrawled across the ground in the first place.

Shoulders hunching up and a grimace coming to his face, Ryder mumbled, "Oh...look at that. Must be...buried treasure...yeah." As he spoke, he took small steps back towards the way he'd come in, keeping his eyes affixed on his only escape route. "We should...y'know...leave that alone unless we want to make the pirates angry."

"Do not move, Mr. Walker," Vlad said in a dark, cold voice without bothering to look up at the man inching towards the door. Dropping to his knees, Vlad grabbed one of the floorboards and easily removed it. Tossing it off to the side, Vlad did the same to the many others around it until the entire section of floor was eradicated and the treasure trove was exposed in what was a little dug-out crevice underground.

"Holy crap," Danny whispered, kneeling down beside Vlad to get a better look at all the stuff that had been right beneath their feet for who knew how long. At first glance, it was hard to tell what exactly was in the hidden compartment. There was so much stuff, it all jumbled up into a big mass of junk. In fact, it looked a lot like the Collector's office except on a smaller scale.

Upon further inspection, the two half-ghosts were able to make some objects out. In one corner, ordered into neat, little stacks, was a fair amount of DVDs and CDs ranging from children's movies like Aladdin to music by Elvis Presley. Beside that was Ryder's infamous plastic spoon collection that, apparently, had been expanded upon to include silver, gold, and even a few glowing spoons. Next to that was a box of not-yet inflated balloons, and a pile of expensive looking rings, necklaces, and watches.

At the other end of the crevice was a dark tube that Danny remembered Ryder explaining before. It was his holding case for paintings that he had stolen, and he could only assume that it wasn't empty at the moment. Next to the painting was a smattering of objects including: a toaster with a Star Wars logo plastered on it, a silver compass, a wallet, a pile of glowing ghost gems and crystals, a ten-gallon cowboy hat, a pair of walkie-talkies, a pile of post-it notes and pens, a skateboard, several different types of board games (with 'Guess Who?' being the easiest to see), and, last but not least, an old-fashioned alarm clock complete with a set of golden bells that were ringing obnoxiously.

Danny reached down into the crevice and turned the device off before he leaned back on his knees and shook his head in amazement. He couldn't believe that Ryder had stolen all of this. How had he even managed to do it without getting caught?

"Heh...surprise?" Ryder squeaked out, smiling timidly over at Vlad.

Overtaken by his anger, Vlad quickly stood up and turned toward Ryder. His scowl was black and foreboding, doing nothing but worsening the already spiraling mood inside the cabin. Although the man looked downright horrified at being the center of Vlad's attention, Vlad briskly headed towards the thief, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and roughly pinned him against the wall with his forearm pressed against Ryder's chest. Clearly, this hostile chat was going to happen, even if Ryder wanted it to or not.

"Damn it, Ryder!" Vlad exploded furiously. Pointing to the stash with his free hand, Vlad yelled into the man's face, "This is insane! How long have you been collecting these things? Do you know what the Curator would do to us if he ever found out about this? Do you?"

"I'm sorry!" Ryder yelped out, expression utterly terrified as he squirmed a little to free himself. He knew it was useless, but it was just a natural reaction. Unwillingly meeting Vlad's furious gaze, the thief rapidly babbled in hopes of calming the halfa down, "I s-started when we got out that first-first time. But I guess, technically, the spoons were what I started with first, but then I got you that book, and then I saw the walkie-talkies, and I kinda really wanted them. Then, I saw the toaster the next time we got out, and then the cowboy hat, and then the skateboard, and-and...I have a problem, okay?"

"Well, that's fantastically obvious now!" Vlad snapped back, still as infuriated as ever. "This...this hoard...it could ruin everything we have worked for! If the Curator ever discovers one of these items missing and suspects us behind it, all of our loved ones could end up dead! Did you ever consider that for a moment, Ryder? Some of this junk is even dangerous to have! It-! Hey! No!"

For a second, Vlad had glanced behind his back at Danny sorting through the stolen articles. He had picked up to inspect an unnaturally large, glowing emerald with some dead language symbols engraved on it. Recognizing the stone for what it really was, Vlad abandoned Ryder and rushed back to Danny, snatching the emerald out of his hands just as its ominous glow started to fluctuate. The teen had been seconds away from activating a rather painful curse.

Flinging the emerald back into its pile, Vlad told Danny breathlessly, "I don't think the kings of ancient Babylon would have appreciated you touching one of the royal jewels. Don't touch anything else in here unless I say so. Understand?"

Wide eyes still trained on the gem that had apparently just tried to kill him, Danny swallowed and nodded quickly. He guessed curiosity really did kill the cat. Or, at the very least, cursed the cat.

"Yeah...yes, sir," he agreed shakily, pushing himself to his feet so that he could sit down on his bed far enough away from the stash to avoid touching anything else dangerous. He didn't even want to give himself the opportunity to get more curious than he already was about the stolen items.

"Whoa, royal jewel," Ryder whispered, leaning around Vlad's side to stare down at the gem he'd tossed back into the pile. A grin made its way to his face as his eyes shone with delight. "I knew it was special. Man, I wonder how much I could get for that back home. I bet I could pay for a whole year's rent in advance."

Spinning around to face Ryder again, anger swiftly returning, Vlad grabbed a handful of Ryder's sleeve and yanked him around so that they faced one another. "We're not taking any of this stuff with us, Ryder!" Vlad snarled dangerously into the thief's face, trying to get his point across. "You're an idiot if you think you will be able to bring all this!"

Suddenly, the door opened as Melody waltzed in, saying, "I heard yelling, and I-." She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Vlad and Ryder in what appeared to be a pretty intense argument, then her eyes drifted down to the stash. "Hole-ly shit," Melody muttered in awe and fear.

Ryder barely glanced in Melody's direction before he looked back up at Vlad, yanking his arm to try and escape the man's death grip. He didn't like that Vlad was mad and yelling at him, but he also didn't like that Vlad said he couldn't bring all his stuff with him after he did so much to get it in the first place.

"I can take some of it!" the thief shouted back, no anger evident in his tone. He just sounded upset that Vlad was being so mean to him. "I stole it! It's mine now!"

"Do you hear yourself right now?" Vlad yelled, suddenly aggressively shoving Ryder backwards and into the wall. "You're putting everyone in danger by stealing and keeping this stuff, and now you want to bring it along during our escape as if this is one big, long heist!" In all his rage, Vlad's fists suddenly burst with ectoplasm fire. "I can't _believe_ you, Ryder!"

Ryder grimaced in pain from his head knocking back against the wall, and he rubbed his skull. He could only stare back up at Vlad in wide-eyed fear and surprise. He couldn't believe Vlad was so angry at him, and he couldn't really understand why he was so mad. It wasn't like the Collector would figure out that he'd taken anything. He knew how to steal things without people noticing, but he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Vlad of that right now. He was way too pissed.

"I...no-no one's gonna get hurt," Ryder tried to defend himself, his voice trembling as he eyed Vlad's ghost energy. It'd been a while since Vlad had been this angry at him. It was safe to say that he didn't miss it.

"Vlad," Danny said uncertainly, staring warily at the man's back as he raised a hand before letting it limply drop back to the mattress. He didn't know what he could say right now. The teen glanced over at Melody, uncertain if she knew what to do, either.

Melody shared Danny's brief glance before swallowing fearfully. Trying to come off as more confident and assertive than she currently felt, the girl took a few steps toward Vlad and gently placed her hand on his forearm. As he glared down at her, Melody said as evenly as possible as she boldly met his threatening gaze, "Vlad, calm down. You're...you're scaring us."

Vlad seemed to freeze when hearing these words. He studied Melody's face for a second before drifting his gaze over to Ryder then to Danny, the ectoplasm power in his hands gradually dying out. He took a step back before turning away from Ryder, running both his hands through his hair in sad frustration. Vlad couldn't believe he had just completely lost his temper. He felt like he had been reverted back to his old self for that flash of a moment, and he didn't like one second of how ugly it must have looked. He wanted to believe he had changed fully for the better, but now it was apparent that some things would be harder to change.

Releasing a long sigh, Vlad said with his back still turned to the group, "I...I'm sorry."

Danny wasn't sure what to say. He glanced over to Melody before looking at Ryder. Neither of the thieves looked like they really wanted to say anything, either. In fact, Ryder still looked like he was scared out of his mind. He was staring at Vlad like he was a hungry lion that wanted to eat him.

Slowly, the boy stood up and approached Vlad, his steps wary. Like Vlad had, he'd seen the flash of the old person he'd been in that moment of anger. Honestly, it was more than scary. After swallowing nervously, Danny gingerly touched his upper arm and murmured, "It's okay, Vlad."

Vlad wearily looked down at Danny, grimaced, and then nodded. Putting his hands back on his hips, the man turned and observed the hidden stash of stolen items for a few seconds. He could feel a bit of his anger return. To keep himself calm, he walked over to Ryder's bed and sat down.

"Alright," Vlad said quietly. "We're going to discuss this civilly." He raised his eyes to meet Ryder's gaze, trying to look apologetic. "Please, explain your reasoning behind keeping all this stuff without telling any of us. Wait." Pinning his stare on Melody next, Vlad asked, "Did you know about this?"

Shaking her head, Melody said, "No. _Hell_ no! This is..._crazy_."

"So you don't have a stash like this one?"

"I don't even know how to steal half the items he has here," Melody mumbled. "Jeez, Ryder! What were you thinking?"

"I dunno," Ryder miserably muttered, dropping his eyes to stare at the floor. He didn't want to look at anybody, especially after how Vlad had reacted. He'd known that the others probably wouldn't be happy with him, but he didn't think they'd be _that_ unhappy.

"I always steal stuff," the thief continued, his voice quiet and upset. He didn't expect anyone to understand, but he was gonna try, at least. "I have a secret stash of stuff in every house that I own (and don't tell anyone about that). It just...I can't help it. I didn't mean to take so much, but we kept getting out, and I kept finding more stuff that I wanted, and everything just kept getting bigger and bigger, and I knew I couldn't tell anyone 'cause there was too much stuff..."

Ryder finally raised his eyes a little and looked at each person individually as he murmured, "I'm really sorry."

The room was silent for a few seconds before Melody said with a nervous laugh, "The thief has a stealing addiction. Who would have guessed?"

"I understand that much," Vlad sighed, a thin smile crossing his face. He stared at the stash as he asked somberly, "Why would you put us and our loved ones in danger like this? Did your own and our safety ever cross your mind?"

"No, no," Ryder replied sadly, dropping his gaze again to look at everything he had stolen. "If I get caught, I get hurt. That's always how it is. Just me. I didn't...I didn't want to hurt everyone else. It's always just me."

"But, Ryder," Danny began quietly, eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "This is different. You know it is. We're not out in the real world. There's no reason to steal all this stuff."

The thief raised his eyes, expression set into his signature stubborn frown. "_He_ stole _me_ from Jet," Ryder growled, voice shaking with emotion. "He took me away for no reason! If I can steal anything that he cares about, that's what I'm gonna do!" Eyes losing their angry glint, Ryder added sullenly, "It makes me feel better. It just makes me feel better. I didn't mean for anyone to get mad."

Blowing a sigh out from the corner of her mouth, Melody folded her arms and leaned against the door. She didn't know what else to say. Ryder had summed up everything for them. Melody shared another glance with Danny, and it looked like he was in the same boat as her. Gaze hopeful, she turned her eyes toward Vlad. He looked overwrought with guilt as he studied Ryder. After a few silent seconds of thought, the man closed his eyes and shook his head. Opening them, he listlessly regarded the stash.

Suddenly, Vlad's expression changed into one of interest as he got off the bed and kneeled down again by the hole in the floor. He reached into the pile of stolen junk and picked up two of the four walkie-talkies. Without a word, he checked the batteries in them, turned both on, pushed the button to one, and said into the speaker, "Check." The other walkie-talkie sounded with a slight crackle, but it worked like it was supposed to.

"They work," Vlad said with a soft, half-hearted chuckle.

"Of course they work," Ryder butted in as if he was offended by Vlad's statement. "I wouldn't steal broken walkie-talkies. That'd just be..."

"Stupid?" Danny supplied for the man, raising an eyebrow as he did.

"...Yeah," the thief agreed after a pause. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just settled for leaning back against the wall and staring down at the ground silently.

After shaking his head at the man, Danny moved to stand at the edge of the hole in the floor, staring thoughtfully down into the mass of junk. He didn't try to touch anything else, no matter how curious he was. Instead, he glanced over at Vlad and curiously asked, "Could we use some of this stuff in the escape?"

"That was exactly what I was thinking," Vlad said as he gathered up the rest of the walkie-talkies and set them off to the side. "It's not like we can put any of these items back where they came from and make things right even if Mr. Walker allowed us to, so we might as well use what we can to help us." Holding up an old record, Vlad muttered, "Although I don't know if the king of rock and roll will assist us on our quest."

Raising an eyebrow, Vlad reached back into the hole and picked up the wallet that had been hiding off to the side inconspicuously. Flipping the expensive, leather wallet open, Vlad frowned in flabbergasted frustration as he was faced with his own driver's license, credit cards, and ID pass for his company.

"My wallet," Vlad said flatly. "I assumed the Curator took it that first day."

A nervous smile slid to Ryder's face when Vlad looked back at him, and he quietly said in explanation, "You _were_ kinda mean to me that first day." When all he got was a soft glare in response, the thief quickly added while waving his hands for emphasis, "I was gonna give it back...eventually. I just didn't find a good time to do it, is all. And I didn't take anything out of it either. So...I was just keeping it safe for you, technically."

Vlad shook his head again, shutting his eyes as he closed the wallet and shoved it into his back pocket. Ryder did have a point. It wasn't the best of points, but at least he had made one.

Looking back at the treasure trove of stolen goods, Vlad picked his way through the items carefully. Not much of the childish or expensive trinkets were useful, but Vlad set aside four working watches, a gold Inca coin, an old and frayed dreamcatcher necklace, a broken compass, and all the post-it notes and pens.

Holding up the coin and necklace for everyone to see, Vlad stated, "These are amulets. They protect against ghostly attacks to whoever holds or wears them. Danny and I can't use them because they can hurt us in our ghost forms, but you two might benefit by having them, especially during the escape. Who wants which one?"

"Oh! Oh! I want the coin!" Ryder exclaimed, zipping nimbly forward to snatch it out of Vlad's hands before he could object. Holding the coin up to examine it critically, the thief declared with a gigantic grin, "Ha! A ghost-be-gone coin! This is what stealing gets you, people! Ghosts-go-away coins and necklaces! Ah, sometimes I truly amaze myself."

Rolling his eyes at Ryder's theatrics, Danny decided to ignore the man for now. After all, he did have a point...sort of. At least a few things he'd stolen were useful. The teen still wasn't so sure about the toaster, quite honestly.

Turning his eyes back to Vlad, Danny tilted his head to the side and asked with a curious smile, "How do you know all this stuff? Like, with the gem of death thing. How'd you know it was bad?"

As he handed Melody the necklace which she didn't look too thrilled about, Vlad gave Danny a modest smile. "I've been studying ghosts since I was a little kid," Vlad explained. He fiddled with the compass as he said, "Trust me, I've read plenty of books about these kinds of things and experienced my own fair share of ghost objects and the like to know what they are by now."

Looking up, Vlad said quickly, "Oh, Miss Hart, I wouldn't wear that while you're sleeping if I was you."

Glancing down at the necklace in her hand with disgust, Melody muttered, "Why couldn't I get the coin?"

"You didn't get the coin 'cause you're slow," Ryder supplied for Melody, grinning big as he quickly ducked out of swatting range. He looked more than pleased with his comment and the fact that he didn't have to wear the necklace.

Plopping the compass into Danny's hands, Vlad said, "Unfortunately, even with my vast knowledge of ghostly objects and artifacts, I don't know what this one does. I know it is connected with ghosts because you can feel the energy radiating off it in your core, but it was personally hand-made by someone and so it must be very rare. If you can, figure out what it is for."

"Gotcha," Danny murmured to Vlad, ignoring the thieves for now as he lifted the compass up to stare at it intensely. "I'll use my curious teen powers just for the occasion," the boy promised, shooting Vlad a cheeky smirk before he focused back on the compass.

Danny clasped his hands tighter around the small device, narrowing his eyes as he began to feel the energy Vlad had mentioned. It was subtle, but it was there. It almost felt like a tiny heartbeat coming from the compass, as if it was a small animal of some sort. "Wow...that's trippy," Danny murmured with a quiet laugh.

Grinning down at the teen, Vlad nodded as he handed Danny a walkie-talkie, wristwatch, post-it note, and pen. Vlad gave the same to each of the others, saying, "We'll use the radios and watches to time our escape when the opportunity comes. Use the paper to write down whatever you think is important for you to remember for the escape. Hide these items until the time comes."

Pointing down to the hole, Vlad told them, "We're going to cover that mess up and pretend it's not there. I don't want to see it get any fuller. Understand, Mr. Walker?" Before Ryder could protest, lie, or make an excuse, Vlad raised his hand and flashed the man a grin. "Except for one more thing," he said.

Expression morphing from protest to intrigue in an instant, Ryder smiled back at Vlad and leaned forward eagerly. "What's that?" he asked, sounding very much like an excited child that had just been told he was getting a surprise present for being good. "I can get it. One last time. Promise. Oh, tell me, tell me!"

"You better tell him quick, Vlad," Danny told the man with a laugh and a grin. "Before he just pees all over himself from excitement."

"Hey!" Ryder turned to glare at him momentarily as he said, "That only happened once, and I was four. So back off!" Focus snapping back to Vlad, the thief demanded, "What is it?"

Trying not to laugh, Vlad said as he languidly strolled across the room with his hands behind his back, "If we want to burn this place to the ground, we'll have to start a fire. To do that, we'll need something to start the fire with. Think you can handle finding and stealing some lighters and/or matches for us?"

Smiling slyly at the question, Ryder crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. "Oh yeah," he replied, sounding more than just confident. "I can do that. For the sake of my joke, of course."

"For your joke. Excellent," Vlad said with an ironic smile, shaking his head once again as he walked back toward Ryder. "We have ourselves a plan, then."

Indecision flashing across his face, Vlad looked down and away from the thief before placing his hand on the man's shoulder. Locking his gaze with Ryder's, Vlad told him quietly and seriously, "For clarification, Ryder, I'm sorry for losing my temper with you."

Ryder's smile slowly drifted from his face as he glanced down at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's okay," he murmured, a little uncomfortable with receiving an honest apology. Not a lot of people apologized to him after they got mad at him and almost beat the crap out of him...which happened more than he liked. Only since he'd been brought here had he actually started to receive heartfelt apologies from people who actually cared about him. It was really hard for him to get used to.

Trying to shrug off the cumbersome and unhappy emotion, Ryder said, "I probably deserved it, anyway. People...get mad at me a lot."

"I know," Vlad said, "but that doesn't mean you always necessarily deserve it. You deserved frustration this time. Not a whole...," Vlad tried to use his hands to explain as he searched for the right word, "angry meltdown, as Danny might have put it."

Ryder saw Danny nod behind the man's back in silent agreement with the statement. Smiling a little at the boy's serious expression, the thief mumbled, "Yeah...I guess so. I, well, I probably should've said something about the stuff, but I just- I dunno. I can't stop stealing, and I guess it's kinda embarrassing, and I didn't want to say anything once it got too out of hand, and it was really fun to steal it all and-"

Realizing that he was babbling, like he was notorious for doing, Ryder promptly shut his mouth and nodded as he said, "Sorry."

"It's fine," Vlad said, smiling a tad. "Only...please, no more stealing after you get the items to light the fire. We both know that you're the best thief in the world, Ryder, and that you are confident in your abilities, but we're all responsible to keep each other safe in here. Any more than what you have now could tip the scales, and I don't want to see you or any of the others hurt because of it. I know it will be hard, but I need to know this won't happen again."

Ryder chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought about what Vlad had said. The prospect of not being able to steal anymore for a few weeks was something he wasn't sure he could do. He got all...antsy if he didn't steal anything for too long. But he knew he had to stop. He didn't want anyone to get hurt because of his problem. That just wasn't fair.

The thief took in a deep breath and nodded unwillingly, holding his hands up so he couldn't cross his fingers this time. "I promise...no more stealing after I get the matches," he said, looking pained as he uttered the words. Ryder suddenly pointed at the ceiling as he declared, "But after we get out of here, I'm stealing something big. Like...like a building or something. I could do that if I tried!"

"Well, as long as it's not one of my buildings, I'm perfectly fine with that," Vlad said, reining in a laugh.

Ryder grinned and responded with, "I think that can be arranged."

Danny suddenly appeared beside the two men, smiling cheekily as he looked up at both of them. "Aw, guys! Look at you!" he exclaimed teasingly. "I think you should just hug it out. Right here. Me and Melody won't judge you at all if you do. Promise."

"Pssshhh!" was all Melody uttered before realizing everyone was looking at her. Donning a sweet, sticky smile for a glaring Vlad's sake, she told them, "Oh, go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

"No, no, no," Vlad said, shaking his head at Danny after sticking Melody with a cold scowl. "I don't prefer hugs."

"What? Sure ya do!" Danny persisted, flashing the man a short, nefarious grin. When an opportunity arose to tease Vlad unmercifully, he just had to take it. It was just in his nature. "You've become a hugger, Vlad. You totally have. Don't deny the truth."

Ryder's eyebrows rose in surprise as he looked from Danny up to Vlad. "Really?" he asked, smiling in delight. Pausing to think about it, the thief murmured, "We did group hug that one time. It was awesome! That's when we really needed that camera, actually."

Raising a forefinger, Vlad said warily, "That was...mmm. That was different. And don't you dare fantasize about stealing that camera, Mr. Walker. Might as well eradicate the entire notion out of your head."

"Oh...okay." Ryder glanced off to the side and rubbed the back of his head as he muttered, "Eradicate? That sounds like it'd hurt."

Grinning at the thief's statement, Danny looked up at Vlad and casually asked, "So if we all just hugged you right now...what would you do?"

The question actually flustered Vlad. He paused to answer until it dawned on him that he was perturbed. An oily smile suddenly coming to his lips, the man leaned down so he was at Danny's eye level and told him quietly, "You have an extraordinarily capability of exasperating people. Do you know that?"

Cheeky grin not diminishing in the least, Danny replied with a chipper, "Yep! It's what makes me so adorable, I've heard." His smile delved into a challenging smirk as he stared right back at Vlad and stated without a hint of hesitation, "It's endearing, isn't it?"

Matching Danny's smirk, Vlad answered, "Oh, it's positively darling."

"I'm ignoring the sarcasm and taking that at face value," Danny replied, giving a firm nod. "And that's why you totally wanna hug me right now, but you're gonna try to resist because you supposedly 'don't hug' when you definitely do." He tapped his temple with a finger, saying with a grin, "I've figured you out, Vlad. You can't fool me."

"Hey," Vlad said as he stood back up to his full height and put his hands on his hips, "I did not say that I didn't hug. I said it wasn't my most preferred method." Pointing down at the teen, he added, "And you are too cheeky for your own good sometimes."

Danny gave an innocent smile and a small shrug in return. "I know," he said as if he was used to the statement by now. "Well, if hugging isn't your preferred method, what is?" the teen persisted as he raised an eyebrow. He was only half teasing at this point. He really just wanted to test Vlad. It was his own, personal good-guy test.

"An awkward handshake? An uncomfortable pat on the back? Definitely not a high-five, right?" Danny questioned, keeping his eyebrow arched as he smiled.

"Don't start with me. I won't have any of it," Vlad said, not able to hold back a grin. The boy was trying his very best to push all of Vlad's buttons, and the man had to admit the teen was doing a very successful job of it. He would have wondered where Danny got it from, but Vlad already had a sneaky suspicion where it had originated.

Giving in just a tad, Vlad said after a sigh of defeat, "But since you insist on pestering me about it, I'll tell you what I like. Words of affirmation. There, satisfied?"

Danny tilted his head curiously to the side, giving Vlad a confused look. He actually didn't feel satisfied at all by that answer. "Words of affirmation?" he repeated quizzically, shaking his head in bemusement. Vlad could sound like such a robot sometimes. The guy still had a lot to learn about being normal...and Danny was going to do all that he could to teach him how.

"Like...'I think you're cool?'" the teen guessed, using air quotes to try and get the point across that he had no clue what Vlad meant.

"Somehow you make it sound so horrible," Vlad said, chuckling.

"It's like telling someone you support them in some way. It can be in the form of a compliment or congratulating someone on something or whatever," Melody butted in to explain for Danny. When everyone looked over at her, the girl shrugged and muttered, "What? Matthew was getting his teaching degree. He had to know the different love languages, so he asked me what mine was and told me his. His was words of affirmation, too, so that's how I know. I'm not some freak or something. Jeez."

After a pause, Ryder pointed at Melody and bluntly told her with a smile, "You're a nerd, actually. And that's weird. Hugs and high-fives are so the way to go. Or both...whoa. Could you do both at the same time?"

Grinning over at the thief, Danny quickly looked back over at Vlad and said as seriously as he could muster, "Well, Vlad...I _congratulate_ you on hiding the fact that you like hugs."

Vlad rolled his eyes, giving a short laugh. "You do not stop, do you?" he said. "Give it a rest. If I don't prefer hugs, I don't prefer hugs. End of story. I'm sorry to disappoint. There is not much you can do about it."

_Oh, we'll see about that_, Danny silently vowed with an internal, evil grin. If Vlad could train him with his powers and fighting, then he could train the man with being normal and a good guy. It was only fair. Vlad was the expert with ghost stuff, while Danny was the expert with...well, normal people things.

The teen just wanted to get one reaction from the man. Just one reaction out of him that was a completely instinctual thing that didn't include sarcasm or a badly made threat. He wanted to see a reaction like when Vlad had given him a one-armed hug to comfort him without even thinking about it. When those instinctual reactions started to become natural, then Danny knew he'd have succeeded in teaching Vlad something. Basically, he just wanted the man to loosen up a bit!

Giving Vlad an innocent smile, Danny replied, "Well, I _compliment_ you on being so honest with me. And I _support_ the fact that you think there's nothing I can do about it."

Vlad's forehead creased in confusion. He knew that gleam in Danny's eyes. He was up to no good. "What are you trying to accomplish?" he asked. "Your abnormal behavior is questionable, and that grin of yours is downright disconcerting despite what you may think it is."

"I'm not trying to accomplish anything." Danny instantly denied the man's claims with a shake of his head and a wave of his hand. His smile widened as he added, "I'm just agreeing with you and trying to use words of affirmation like you said. Sheesh, Vlad. Sue a kid for trying to be supportive!"

"Well, don't blame me for being paranoid," Vlad said with a chuckle. Taking a step away from the teen, Vlad said, "Now that the mysterious buzzing noise has been discovered and taken care of, I think you need to get back to your-."

_Ding!_

Glancing upwards, Vlad sighed, "I believe I really hate that noise."

"Me too," Ryder agreed after recovering from his cringe. He shook his head and scooted past the two half-ghosts to start covering up his secret stash with the boards again, muttering over his shoulder, "Pretty sure I'm gonna have a complex once we get outta here. Anytime I walk by an oven or an elevator I'm gonna freak out."

"Don't mention elevators," Danny said with a grimace. "I hate elevators now thanks to that stupid noise."

"Agreed," Melody said. Holding up her necklace again, she said sarcastically, "Thanks for the nasty ghost gift. You guys sure do know how to treat a girl. I'll see you turds at dinner." That said, she left the cabin to get to her display case.

Vlad helped Ryder cover up the stash with the floorboards, finishing it up by draping the rug over the X. Dusting off his hands, Vlad said his goodbyes to Ryder before leaving with Danny. Slipping his hands into his pockets as they walked to their display case, Vlad remained silent.

Danny glanced up at the quiet man, raising an eyebrow as he did. He knew what Vlad was doing. He was totally giving him the silent treatment for whatever reason. Probably because Vlad couldn't figure out what he was plotting. The teen grinned a little at that thought. It was nice to be the one plotting something this time around.

Shaking the grin away, Danny slid his hands into his pockets as he said casually, "I'm not planning anything bad. Just so you know."

Vlad flashed the boy a wry grin, saying, "Oh, but you are planning something, and I know well enough by now to be wary of whatever pops into that inane head of yours. You can be utterly diabolical when you wish to be."

"Well, I don't like to brag about my evil deeds being a superhero and all," Danny answered jokingly, shaking his head as he chuckled a little. The teen looked up at Vlad again, his smile only growing at seeing the man's expression. "It's okay to be scared," he told Vlad, patting his arm in a consoling manner. "I won't think less of you for being terrified by my secret maniacal plot."

Glancing behind them as the doors to their case closed, Vlad said in a sarcastic, flippant manner, "Indeed, I'm mortified. I am at your mercy. How the tables have turned."

"Oh, yes," Danny agreed, raising his hands up to tap his fingers together in front of his face, trying to look as evil as he possibly could. Unfortunately, he'd momentarily forgotten the fact that his broken fingers still hadn't healed yet, and he only ended up hurting himself by moving them.

Hissing in a sharp breath, Danny quickly stopped what he was doing and muttered, "Ouch," under his breath as he held his bad hand with his good one.

In an attempt to regain his evil composure, Danny looked up at Vlad, pointing at him as he grimaced from the lingering pain and said, "It's alright to tremble in fear, Vlad. I'm the only one who'd see. Well...me and all the ghosts standing outside the window, but that's it."

Not bothering to glance out the glass wall, Vlad folded his arms across his chest and pinned Danny with an unemotional stare. "The only thing I'm worried about so far is seeing you hurt yourself trying so hard to be evil," he said. Tone softening a little, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Danny nodded instantly without even stopping to think about the question. He'd been trying very hard lately to not tell the others if he felt bad so they wouldn't worry about him, and he wasn't about to stop that so soon. Dropping his hands so he wouldn't have to think about the throbbing pain, the teen said, "Yeah...totally fine."

He cleared his throat and added with a shrug and a mock sad shake of his head, "Guess I'm just not meant to be evil. Oh darn."

Spotting Danny's lie a mile away, Vlad could only frown. He didn't like how Danny always avoided the pain subject as if it was some plague. Vlad just wanted some form of the truth from the teen about his condition, but it was obvious that Danny was going to be obstinately vague about it until he deemed fit.

"I'm sure that won't stop you from deploying your evil scheme, though," Vlad said, trying to erase his frown.

"Oh, you know how us evil people work," Danny agreed, trying to work around the aching pain he was now feeling. He felt really dumb for aggravating his injury by being stupid and careless, and he could tell by Vlad's expression that he wasn't too thrilled with his lie. Vlad pretty much always knew when he was lying.

Either grimacing or smiling, the boy waved his good hand as he said, "Neither pain or sunshine can stop- did I just- I meant rain. Rain, I said rain. Not pain..._yeah_."

Danny rolled his eyes to the side, giving up on talking for the moment as he clamped his mouth shut. It was like his subconscious was out to get him and make him tell Vlad how bad he felt just so the man could feel bad for him. Well, he wasn't going to let his subconscious win this round.

"You're as stubborn as I am," Vlad sighed, shaking his head. With a hand, he gestured and ordered, "Come on. Change into your ghost form. It will help alleviate the pain."

Rolling his eyes again at being so easily found out, Danny sighed and grumbled, "Yes, sir." He didn't really want to change into his ghost half, but there wasn't much of a choice. Vlad knew he was lying, and it would help make the pain go away.

Though he did so unwillingly, the teen morphed into ghost form and crossed his arms over his chest as he muttered at Vlad, "Happy now?"

"Overwhelmed with joy," Vlad assured the teen sarcastically. Taking a few steps back, Vlad's eyes quickly asserted Danny's physical condition. Coming to a conclusion, the man said as he walked over to lean against a wall, "You are looking healthier, though. The swelling has gone down, and the bruises are fading slightly. Being in ghost form for most hours helps, I'm sure."

Danny pursed his lips in a pout as he stared down at the floor. "I'm fine," he mumbled in one last vain attempt to make Vlad not worry about him. In fact, he almost changed right back into his human form on the spot just to prove his point, but he backed out at the last moment when he stopped to think about the pain he wanted to avoid.

Just because he looked better definitely didn't mean he felt better.

"I hope you don't think I actually believe you," Vlad said, regarding Danny thoughtfully. Maybe this time he could bring the subject up without Danny running away from it. "You're still not sleeping at night. You're exhausted mentally and physically. You can hide it from the others, but do know that I'm not fooled."

Danny continued to scrutinize the ground as he gritted his jaw in frustration. It was times like these he wished Vlad wasn't so observant. He'd been trying so hard to hide just how tired he was. It was to the point where he had a constant sleep-deprived headache pounding in his temples. Every time he blinked, he wanted to keep his eyes shut and pass out. He'd hidden these feelings by sitting down a lot around everyone and avoiding any fast movements or too deep of thinking. The teen thought he'd been doing a pretty good job, but, of course, Vlad saw right through him like he always did.

The boy didn't like when people worried about him. Even back home, he always tried to tone down any injuries he had for Jazz's, Tuck's, and Sam's sakes. He always turned out to be okay in the end, so there wasn't any need to get people all concerned and anxious.

"How do you know I'm not sleeping still?" Danny muttered crossly, shooting Vlad a familiar rebellious look. "I could be sleeping just fine, actually. It's been a while. I could be fine by now."

"Because you toss and turn all night," Vlad answered evenly. "You usually mutter in your sleep, but I haven't heard a peep from you all week. Not only that, but I can see it in your eyes. You have bags around them that aren't normally there. Furthermore, sometimes I catch you staring off into space; not in a daydreaming fashion, mind you, but in a tired, mindless one. You're always too quick to tell everyone you're fine."

Danny's cheeks reddened a little in embarrassment, and he stared off to the side, self-consciously touching the skin beneath one of his eyes. He didn't know that he had bags. He'd still been avoiding looking in a mirror as of late for fear of seeing what his face actually looked like. Obviously, he still looked extremely crappy. It didn't help him feel any better to learn that Vlad had been keeping such a close eye on him.

After releasing a soft sigh, Danny mumbled half-heartedly, "So what if I am? It's not like that's a crime. I'll be okay...eventually."

"It's not a crime," Vlad said with a small nod, "and you probably will get better eventually. Then again, what if you don't? Who are you with so many doctor skills that you can diagnose yourself?" Vlad paused before saying in the same calm, quiet tone, "I would appreciate some honesty from you. That's all."

Danny had an entire argument ready and waiting the moment Vlad mentioned doctoring skills. He'd already planned out exactly what he was going to say down to the many late nights he'd had bandaging his own wounds after ghost fights and, on numerous occasions, how he'd hidden his injuries he'd gotten from Vlad himself.

However, the angry words died in his throat when he heard the man's tone. Glancing back at Vlad, Danny's eyes filled with guilt. "I'm not trying to lie," the teen murmured, shoulders slumping as he looked up at the man. "I just...I don't want you to have to worry about me."

Giving a mirthless chuckle, Vlad's gaze shifted so that he stared out the window as he said, "At this point, it doesn't matter if you are injured or not. I'll still worry about you as long as you're in here."

If it was possible, Vlad's statement only seemed to make Danny feel worse. For some reason, it just didn't seem fair that Vlad had to worry about him. Maybe it was because the Collector always found some way to use him against Vlad, and that only ended up hurting them both.

Of course, Danny was glad Vlad cared about him enough to worry about his safety. He didn't want the man to stop caring. He just wished that he could lessen his burden somehow; athough, he knew there really wasn't anything he could do. Danny knew that he felt the same way towards everyone in their group. He had no room to judge or be angry because he was doing the exact same thing.

Looking up at Vlad sadly, the teen hesitantly asked, "What about...when we get outta here?"

Returning his gaze to meet Danny's, Vlad answered, "I will probably keep worrying. Not as much as now, but you will always be fighting, in danger, and getting hurt. I respect the fact that you want to keep being a superhero. I won't stop you from being one, but you must understand that as long as you remain a superhero the people around you will worry for you. It's not something you can necessarily stop."

Danny remained silent as he dropped his gaze to the floor and nodded. That was a lot to take in all at once, but he was thankful that Vlad was being honest with him...even after he hadn't necessarily done the same. Even if he wanted to or not, the teen knew he was going to have to tell Vlad the truth about his injuries if he ever asked.

Glancing up at the man again, Danny hesitated for a moment before saying, "You could...always fight with me if you wanted. Then you wouldn't have to worry so much."

Offering Danny a short smile, Vlad sighed as he sat down with his back against the wall. He nodded for Danny to take a seat next to him before saying, "Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I must disincline. As a mayor, though, I plan to fight. I don't need to don the superhero title to better the city."

Danny returned the small smile as he sat down beside Vlad, covering his mouth as a massive yawn escaped him. It startled him a little bit, considering he didn't actually yawn a lot in his ghost form. Maybe sitting down and acknowledging his crushing sleepiness wasn't the best of ideas. The boy rubbed at his tired eyes as he mumbled, "I'm okay with that."

He paused for a moment before saying with an exhausted chuckle, "You should just install a Danny Phantom signal somewhere when you need to contact me. That'll be your first step towards being an awesome mayor."

"Or, to save on the electricity bill, I could call your cellphone," Vlad said, grinning.

"Oh, that wouldn't be near as dramatic," Danny countered, waving his hand through the air as if to swat away Vlad's words. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, frowning at the insistent throbbing in the center of his forehead. "Drama's...95% of my job," he added in a mumble.

Vlad chuckled at the joke, but he soon returned to silence as he looked down at Danny. Even in his ghost form, the teen looked like he was in pain and utterly exhausted. Vlad knew the feeling of sleep deprivation all too well. He'd experienced the same thing for the first month and a half inside the museum and other times throughout his life. He hated seeing Danny going through the same thing.

"If I don't start sleeping normally again soon," Danny muttered, keeping his eyes shut as he yawned widely again and slouched down against the wall. The wall was never comfortable, really, but it was either that or standing up until the bell so he knew he was just going to have to deal with it.

Dragging his good hand down his face, the boy finished in a grumble, "I'm going to kill myself...again. Not on accident this time, either."

"Hey," Vlad said half teasingly, wrapping an arm around Danny's shoulders and bringing him in close so the teen's head rested on the man's shoulder, "I won't allow any suicidal threats. Understand?"

Danny momentarily opened his eyes to look up at Vlad in surprise before he closed them again, letting out a content sigh. Somehow, this was all Vlad had to do to make him feel just a little better. Giving yet another yawn, Danny answered with a dazed smile, "Yes, sir."

A/N: It was a bit of some filler stuff at the end, but I think Danny's and Vlad's banter is kinda cute and fun. I feel like they haven't changed with their pestering each other like before. The only that has changed is their attitudes about it. Ha ha!

Anyways, the double post will happen this weekend 'cause of labor day and everything. Since most of you guys are out on Monday, I'll post then. So I'll see you guys soon!


	28. Chapter 28 Fire Starters

A/N: I am so sorry for getting this out late! Ug. Just lots of stuff going on in life, and I sometimes forget things. Anyways, a day late doesn't hurt that bad I hope. Besides, this is a long chapter. So enjoy!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. The rest belongs to us.

Previously In The Collector: Everyone finally discovered that Ryder has been collecting a treasure trove of random objects; some that are dangerous and some that might help the team in their escape. Along the way, Vlad lost is cool for a second, but he gained it back soon enough. We also find out that Danny's not been getting any kind of sleep these past few weeks. Let's hope that comes to an end.

Chapter 28 Fire Starters

At the dinner table, Vlad decided that since he had never been very subtle in the past with the group meant that he didn't have to break the tradition now. Swallowing his food, Vlad put down his spoon and told Ryder, "I'm coming with you when you go steal the fire starting material after you're done eating."

Ryder froze mid-bite, staring across the table at Vlad without an expression for a moment before he grinned widely. "That's awesome!" the thief declared, looking more than just excited to hear that Vlad was going with him. It was the perfect opportunity for the half-ghost to see him being the fantastic thief that he was. "And we're going soon too! Oh, awesome, awesome! Here, I'll eat faster!"

With that properly declared, Ryder continued eating in hopes of finishing quicker than normal so that they could get going. As the thief shoveled massive amounts of food into his mouth, Danny glanced over at Vlad from where he'd slouched forward against the table top.

Tiredly raising an eyebrow, Danny asked, "Why do you need to go with him? Wouldn't it be safer for him to go alone?"

"Mmyeah!" Melody said, swallowing her food quickly in her haste to voice her opinion. "Exactly! That was my same question, just Danny got there before me. It would be safer if he went alone, because who knows what will happen if you managed to get caught. Also, Ryder knows what he's doing when it comes down to thieving, obviously. He doesn't need you there. No offense."

"None taken. I assure you, though. We won't get caught," Vlad responded evenly as he continued to eat. Without pause, Vlad half lied, "I simply want to be there to make sure the deed is done and that nothing else gets stolen that shouldn't." He shrugged, summing up his lie by adding, "Besides, I'm rather curious to see how the man does it."

Keeping his eyebrow arched, Danny mumbled uncertainly, "Alright." He turned his head back so that it was cushioned comfortably by his arms and closed his eyes. He didn't feel like trying to question Vlad's motives right now.

Ryder appeared to be in the same boat as Danny, but for very different reasons. He'd finished his food in record time out of eagerness to begin his miniature heist, and he looked ready and willing to jump up at any moment to go for it. The thief smiled widely as he said, "I would say there's nothing special about my thieving but...well." Ryder chuckled and placed a hand against his chest. "It's me. So we all know I'd just be lying if I ever said anything of the sort so I'm not gonna!"

The man didn't hesitate a moment longer to leap nimbly out of his seat, paused to pat Melody on the shoulder, and say, "Don't worry, Ice Queen. We'll be there and back again before you even start to miss us!"

Melody shot Ryder a baffled look as if he was some crazy person telling her the grass was purple. Picking at her food, she muttered, "Miss both of you? I highly doubt that." She looked back up when she saw Vlad getting out of his seat too.

Noticing her shrewd stare, Vlad asked, "What is it now, Miss Hart?"

Smiling a knowing, little smile that told Vlad she had him all figured out as she sat back in her seat, Melody said with false purity, "Oh, nothing, Batman. Are you _sure_ your motives behind this excursion are correct?"

Leaning over the table so that they were eye to eye, Vlad retorted, "You don't have to know right now. We'll talk about it later when Ryder and I get back." Standing back up, Vlad and Ryder headed over to the ghost area of the room to find Charles once again so he could shrink them. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Vlad grumbled, "That girl is too perceptive for her own good."

Because the man was currently speaking to Ryder, one of the most oblivious people on the planet, he merely got a shrug and a nod in return. This was mostly because he didn't get it, plain and simple. He was also more focused on what he needed to do than what had just happened.

Like any other heist, this would require careful planning ahead of time. Fortunately enough, Ryder was used to planning to steal things minutes before he did it, and he already had the path plotted out in his head minutes later when they found Charles.

Without hesitation, Ryder strode forward, giving his ghostly friend an enormous grin. "What's up, Chuck?" he greeted the elderly ghost, raising a hand for a high-five. The thief chuckled and added, "Get it? Up Chuck? Like throwing up?"

Vlad gave Ryder an unimpressed look as Charles chuckled softly and shuffled forward to give his friend a very weak but enthusiastic high-five. Nonetheless, the gesture seemed to delight the elderly ghost despite Ryder's joke flying right over his head.

"So good to see you, Ryder," Charles said, bobbing his head in agreement with what he was saying. "What game are we playing today?"

"Oh, it's gonna be great, Chuck," Ryder replied, shooting Vlad a subtle wink as he did. The thief quickly brought his full attention back to the ghost as he lowered his voice to a serious whisper. "We're going to be..._spies_." Brightening up from his dramatic demeanor, Ryder cheerfully nudged Charles with an arm and said, "You ever been a spy before, Chuck?"

Charles shook his head, but his smile remained on his face. "No. I don't believe I have," the ghost answered. "How exciting, though! What must I do?"

"It's real simple, my man," Ryder said as he and Vlad slowly began to make their way towards their only exit. "All you gotta do is is shrink me and Vladster here so that we can get under the door. Then, you need to stay there, right by the door, and wait until we come back and shrink us down again so we can get back inside the room. I'll use the secret knock to let you know it's us."

The thief held up his index finger, saying seriously, "But, since you're a spy, you gotta make sure nobody notices what we're doing, alright?"

"Good. Very good," Charles said, bobbing his head again. Clasping his hands in front of him, the old ghost said, "Delightful. Simply delightful! Are you ready, my amusing friend?"

Ryder stretched his arms above his head in preparation to be shrunk as he turned his head to the side and whispered to Vlad, "I'm so awesome." Grinning smugly at his own brilliance, he faced Chuck again and pointed at him as he said, "Yup! We're good. Go for it, Chuck! Shrink away!"

In seconds, the two were shrunk once again to the size of ants. By this time, Vlad knew to close his eyes during the process to contest against the dizziness. The two humans stood still for a few seconds to catch their bearings before heading in a jog toward the door. Once they went under and emerged into the hallway beyond, Vlad slowed his pace and lightly tapped Ryder on the arm to get his attention.

Coming to a stop, Vlad said, "Before we do this, I need to ask a favor from you, Ryder."

Ryder stopped as well, looking back at Vlad with an eyebrow arched curiously. Vlad sounded all serious. Well, more serious than usual. Shrugging, the thief said with a grin, "I'm technically already doing you a favor, but go ahead. What's one more? That just means you're gonna owe me twice now."

"Look, I know that I told you not to steal more than just the fire materials, but I need you to steal one more thing tonight," Vlad said, using his hands slightly to get his point across. This was a habit he did while he was nervous and trying not to stumble over his words, which had been very rare until recently. "I hope this doesn't mess up your plans," he went on, "but I would like to steal some sleeping and/or pain killer pills from the Infirmary. Do you think you can do that?"

Ryder frowned, eyebrows furrowing as he did mental calculations. While school smarts weren't his strong suit, he was more than just a genius when it came down to thieving plans. Giving a slow nod, he murmured, "I guess that could work. It'll be tricky, though. Especially if the doctor's there, but...pretty sure I can manage it. I know where he keeps his stash after all."

Bringing his eyes back to Vlad, Ryder turned his head a bit to the side as he asked, "Why do I need to get the pills, though? Do we need them for the plan?"

Vlad hesitated before answering truthfully, "They are for Danny. He hasn't been sleeping well since our last failed escape attempt a week or so ago, and the lack of it is taking its toll on him. All he needs is a good night's rest and I believe his sleeping schedule will snap back to normal."

"_Ohh_," Ryder said, straightening up as his eyebrows rose. "I didn't know he wasn't sleeping. I mean, not that I'd notice, really. I fall asleep, like, instantly all the time- but yeah!" He nodded quickly, getting himself back on track as best he could. "Yeah, I'll get those pills," he told Vlad seriously. "No problem. I can do it. Anything to help Danny out."

Releasing a short, relieved sigh, Vlad nodded. Contrary to Vlad's prediction, Ryder wasn't making the moment awkward or difficult. "Thank you," he said. "If you need any help to get them, don't hesitate to ask me. I can turn us invisible, after all."

As they started again to travel across the giant hallway, Vlad said, "In addition, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention the pills to Danny. Let me do so. He's been a little stubborn lately about the entire thing."

"Really?" Ryder questioned, smiling slightly as he bounced a bit on the springy, carpeted floor. Unlike the first time, he liked being shrunk now. It made everything way more fun. Not to mention, they still had a bit of time to have fun before the real serious stuff started.

Looking over at Vlad as he continued to bounce up and down as he walked, the thief added, "What's he been doing? Guess I haven't been paying attention too well...which isn't anything new."

Smiling at the truth in Ryder's statement, Vlad answered, "He doesn't behave the same way outside the display case as he does with me inside ours. He's more than lethargic, for one. Sometimes he simply stares ahead as if he's not thinking of anything. It's...disconcerting."

"Yeah," Ryder agreed, frowning a little. It upset him to know that Danny was still messed up thanks to what the Collector had done. "That's definitely...that word you said." He glanced up to thoughtfully inspect Vlad's expression before he murmured, "You're really worried about him, huh?"

Vlad pressed his lips together, nodding while looking away. He didn't like looking emotionally vulnerable in front of Ryder, but the question had struck a chord in Vlad. He thought his levels of worry had been normal according to their situation. Now, though, Vlad realized how concerned he really was. It was a strange experience that Vlad wasn't used to, but he would take it over his older emotions for Danny any day.

"Yes," Vlad admitted quietly. Sighing again, he put on a braver face and a somber smile. "Hopefully these pills will help him, and then I won't have to worry so much as he heals. We need him well before we implement the plan."

"Oh, you're still gonna worry," Ryder assured Vlad with a smile and a soft chuckle. He turned his eyes away to stare straight ahead, looking at a scene that only he could see. "I worry about Jet all the time. Every day since he was born. Even when I knew he was safe in the other room at night, I'd worry something was gonna happen to him. That's just...how it is with kids. If we don't worry about them constantly, who will?"

Looking back over to Ryder, Vlad had to see the irony in their conversation. Here Ryder was giving Vlad parenting advice and assurance. Vlad would have never guessed this could have happened, but now he was somehow taking comfort in Ryder's words of wisdom. It was more than odd for Vlad, but he embraced the moment he had to share in something common with the crazy thief.

"Exactly," Vlad said, grinning back at Ryder.

The thief couldn't help but laugh again as he shook his head. "Great, now I feel old," he complained, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Thanks a lot, Vla-"

Ryder broke off mid-whine when both he and Vlad suddenly grew back to their original sizes. Taking a moment to lean against the wall and shake off his wooziness, Ryder pointed at Vlad, his expression serious. It was a very rare expression on the thief's face, to say the least. "Okay, no more joking," he said firmly. "If you're coming along, you gotta do what I say when I say it, alright? I know this is easy for you, but try not to talk a lot. Got it?"

Vlad blinked in surprise. Ryder telling him to be quiet and serious was funny enough to the point where Vlad was very tempted to laugh in the man's face. Successfully swallowing that impulse, Vlad nodded and tried not to smile.

"Oddly enough, I understand," he said. Vlad wouldn't normally submit to such rules that switched authority away from himself, but by now Vlad knew that this was Ryder's element and that he was the best at it. To say otherwise would just be foolish.

"Good," Ryder answered with a nod. He inched forward to peer around the corner, narrowing his eyes as he inspected the quiet hallway beyond where they hid. Thankfully, the museum was closed for the night, but that didn't mean that they shouldn't be careful. They had to avoid the Curator and the guards that would still be patrolling the area. And, unfortunately, Ryder didn't know their schedules like he normally would.

_Well, I do like winging things_, the thief told himself with a wry smile. Glancing back at Vlad, Ryder whispered, "C'mon. Stay close." With that said, he ducked around the corner, quickly and silently moving towards where he knew he needed to go.

The pair hadn't walked for more than a minute before Ryder couldn't take it any longer. He looked over to Vlad and hissed, "Jeez, Vlad, quit stomping."

Frowning in puzzlement, Vlad shot back quietly, "I'm not stomping!" He turned around to inspect the hallway they had just traversed, saying, "What are you talking about? I don't hear anything."

"What? Can't you hear yourself? It's like you're wearing tap shoes!" Ryder whispered before he paused and shook his head. No, Vlad probably couldn't hear himself very well or he wouldn't be making so much noise. Holding up his hands, the thief said, "Quick lesson in thieving, Vlad. Be freakin' quiet when you walk. Everything echoes in museums."

He gestured for Vlad to stop so that he could take a few steps forward for Vlad to listen to. Despite the fact that he was wearing clunky boots, Ryder's feet made next to no sound against the floor. Glancing back at the half-ghost, he murmured, "Either be quiet, or just float or something. You're gonna get us caught with feet like that."

Vlad had always thought of himself as relatively quiet when he walked. He didn't march around and make a ruckus like a lot of people he knew. Actually, he kind of prided himself on being stealthy and usually able to sneak up on people. Consequently, it annoyed him now to watch Ryder being so soundly silent and accusing him of being loud. It was an unsavory turn of the tables. Vlad wanted to argue in an attempt to uphold his pride, but he knew this wasn't the time or the place.

Rolling his eyes, Vlad unwillingly turned ghost and hovered an inch off the ground. "Satisfied?" he growled back at the thief.

Flashing a smirk, Ryder whispered, "We'll see." Before Vlad could reply, he continued walking quickly and silently like the ninja that he was. Without stopping to consult Vlad or pausing in uncertainty, Ryder led the half-ghost deeper and deeper into the museum.

His face remained serious and thoughtful as he carefully checked each hallway before they entered it, keeping his ears pricked for the slightest sound of an approaching guard or Curator. Not once did Ryder waver as he strove forward, following the invisible pathway that only he seemed to be able to see. It was like he seemed to know every inch of the museum from top to bottom.

At last, after many minutes of silently observing Ryder with rising interest, Vlad had to speak up. He raised a hand as they leaned against a wall and Ryder peeked into the one they were going to head down next. Once he got the thief's attention, Vlad said quietly, "I'm sorry, but I have to ask. How do you know where we're going? I didn't recognize half those hallways we just passed, yet you seem rather sure."

After peering around the corner once more and deeming them safe for the moment, Ryder turned back to face Vlad. "It's easy," he said just as quietly. Nodding back towards the way they'd come, he explained, "That's where I stole the toaster about three weeks ago and before that was the compass when we got out that fifth time. Then, before that, was that floaty, glowy spoon thing the second time we escaped. It's like a..." He waved his hand as he searched for the right words, "connect the dots kinda thing, I guess."

"A connect the dots kind of thing?" Vlad repeated in astonishment. From what he was hearing, it was as if Ryder had the entire museum personally mapped out in his head because of all the items he stole. He'd engaged his brain to steal his treasure trove, and somehow he had never forgotten anything. With a twinge of guilt and a stab of stupidity entering his now deflating pride, Vlad realized just how much he had underestimated Ryder's intelligence...and especially his memorization skills.

Trying not to sound too excited, Vlad whispered, "Ryder, we've been trying to map out this place for weeks! Are you telling me you actually know where everything is?"

Ryder's gaze drifted upwards as he thought about it. "Yeah," he answered slowly, giving a small nod as he did. "Yeah, I probably do. I can draw it out for you guys if you want." The thief shrugged as he said, "I just thought you guys figured it out already. We've gotten out so many times."

"Most of that was guess work on my part," Vlad mumbled, letting himself feel a bit ashamed for never confiding in Ryder all those weeks. Still, the contrite feeling didn't last long as Vlad thought about how prosperous it would be for the group to have a real map to memorize for their final escape. Just the thought was making him more excited and hopeful. One more hurdle had been jumped, and they were all one step closer to freedom.

"But, yes," Vlad continued, nodding. "A map would be very nice." Motioning for Ryder to go, he said, "Let's keep moving."

Ryder smiled a little and nodded. "Right," he agreed quietly. Checking one last time to see if the coast was clear, the thief led the way out into the hall, his pace quickened slightly. He knew they were close, and he wanted to hurry this up. It was never a good idea to spend too much time on a heist. Getting in and out fast was rule number one in his own personal handbook.

After turning a final corner, the two men arrived at their destination. Before Vlad could say anything, Ryder gestured over towards their far left where a display had been set up depicting an olden time kitchen. From the black and white linoleum floor to the ugly curtains and appliances; the entire room perfectly matched a 1940's kitchen.

Ryder didn't hesitate to nimbly jump over the red ropes that sectioned off the display from the viewing public and approached the old, gray stove in the corner. He glanced over at Vlad as he said, "Back in the old days, they couldn't light stoves like they do now."

The thief paused by the stove and reached up into the cupboard above it, murmuring, "They only had gas stoves, and they had to light them with..." Ryder grinned as his hand wrapped around what he'd been reaching for. He brought his arm back down and opened his hand up to show Vlad what he'd grabbed. "Matches," he finished, smile stretching wider than it had been before.

"Well," Vlad said, grinning despite himself, "I have to admit it, Mr. Walker. I'm impressed." He looked around the old kitchen, saying, "Spotting this display, my first thought wouldn't have been matches, quite honestly. Somehow your odd mind put it all together, though."

"Actually, my first thought was food," Ryder admitted, sliding the package of matches into his back pocket. "But when you mentioned the fire, it was definitely my second thought. The Collector's stupid, but he cares enough about things here to be precise. I knew he'd have matches in here some-. Wait."

The thief stopped talking, going completely still. He cocked his head to the side, straining his ears desperately to hear what he'd thought he heard again. Instinct set in the instant he heard the distinct sound of footsteps coming in their direction.

Eyes snapping to Vlad, Ryder ordered in a hiss, "Turn invisible and stay quiet." Without waiting for an answer, he leapt right over the kitchen table separating him from the large, white fridge across the room, grabbed the handle, flung the door open and crunched himself inside.

Just as he closed the door and Vlad hid himself with his power, the echoing footsteps rounded the corner as the Collector strolled by the display. His whitish gaze roamed benignly across each artifact in the vicinity as a light smile tinged at his lips. He was on one of his evening strolls simply to admire the items in his museum, something he did more often than he probably realized.

Standing stock still, Vlad was forced to watch as the Collector whisked right past him. The few seconds it took for the ghost to walk placidly down the hallway unnerved Vlad. Despite the cold, hard fact that the Curator didn't suspect them to be roaming the museum or could even see Vlad, for the matter, the man still had frightening bits of doubt running through his brain.

Vlad waited two more minutes after the Collector had turned the corner before moving. He silently flew over to the fridge where Ryder was hiding in and opened the door slightly. "He's gone," Vlad told the thief as he turned visible again. "You do know I could have simply turned you invisible as well, right?"

Ryder looked back up at Vlad, giving the halfa an abashed smile. "I guess so," he said as he squeezed himself up out of the fridge and quietly closed the door behind him. "But I knew the fridge was empty, and I kinda wanted to feel like Indiana Jones for a second there. That guy's awesome."

Brushing off his arm casually, Ryder bluntly added, "Plus, your powers are creepy. All this ghost stuff just isn't natural."

Vlad tried not to look too offended by the remark. Ryder had a good reason to think ghost powers were unnatural because they literally were, but Vlad still didn't appreciate having that fact shoved in his face. After so many years with his powers, Vlad hardly remembered at all how it felt like to be a regular human. He assumed with no ghost experience it would be eerie to be turned invisible.

"We might need more than just matches," Vlad said, doing his best to compose himself after such a close call. "Do you know where we could find a lighter or something similar?"

Ryder remained silent as he mentally traversed the museum's many hallways. His mental map was a lot like a virtual tour of a building. He could picture everything when he thought about a specific item he'd stolen or just something he'd passed by and liked the look of.

After a short pause, he said, "Yeah. And it's on the way to the Infirmary, too. Nice, right?" As he jumped over the rope again, Ryder glanced back at Vlad and murmured, "Sorry. We're gonna have to go the way the Collector went. It should be fine, though. No need to worry."

"No, it's better that way, actually," Vlad said as he followed closely after Ryder. "That way we won't have the misfortune of crossing paths with him again if we follow him for a while." He paused before asking, "How did you know it was Curator and not a guard?"

"Because I heard him," Ryder replied quietly, keeping his eyes and ears focused on his surroundings. He looked poised and ready to dive for a hiding spot at any moment. "The Collector's the only ghost that actually walks around here. Everybody else just flies."

Of course, Vlad already knew this information, but the thought never crossed his mind that Ryder would pick up on the subtle idiosyncrasies of the Collector...or anyone, for that matter. Rubbing the back of his head, Vlad once again got hit with a pang of guilt, yet he also felt a strange pull of fascination. There was a lot more to Ryder than Vlad first suspected, and it was going to be interesting learning more about him as time went by.

Shaking his head, Vlad said in quiet amusement, "You learn something new every day."

"I guess so," Ryder agreed with a small smile before he turned away and refocused back on his job. He led Vlad along for several more minutes, quietly mumbling directions under his breath, "Left at the dreamcatcher necklace...turn here at the Monopoly board...this way after the balloons."

As they rounded a corner and came upon a circular dead-end filled with displays labeled "Addictive Human Habits," Ryder stopped and looked around. His gaze drifted over the section on alcoholic beverages, empty painkiller bottles, and needles before he stopped on the smoking section.

Shooting Vlad a short smirk as he strode forward to retrieve a lighter, the thief whispered, "Told you the Collector was stupid."

"Wow," Vlad said with a grin as he watched Ryder pick up the lighter. "Indeed he is an idiot. A very powerful ghost, but an idiot nonetheless." Grin lowering a little, he asked, "Now, what is the plan for the painkillers?"

"The plan," Ryder repeated, tossing the lighter from one hand to the other as he walked back towards Vlad. "Well, the plan is..." He flipped the lighter up, caught it, and promptly slipped it into his inner jacket pocket faster than the eye could see. "...not to get caught," he finished with a relaxed smile.

"Mmm. Brilliant," Vlad said sarcastically as they walked side-by-side down the hallway. "I can see you thought very long and hard about this one."

_Some things will never change_, Vlad thought with an inward, acrid smile.

"Hey, I'm working on short notice here," Ryder defended himself with a chuckle. "I can only be so fantastic within a small amount of time, y'know?" He waved a hand as he added confidently, "But don't worry. I'll think of something. We've got a few minutes, after all. That's plenty of time to think."

The thief glanced up at Vlad, giving the man a knowing grin. "Which reminds me..." Ryder pointed at the half-ghost and said, "You think I'm stupid, don't you?"

Vlad bit back a wince when hearing the question. Looking straight ahead, Vlad used his hands to say, "Maybe I think you can be a bit...eccentric, perhaps, but not necessarily idiotic." He paused before adding more quietly, "Sometimes."

Ryder really wanted to laugh at Vlad's expression, but he wisely kept himself quiet and, instead, shook his head in amusement. A part of him wanted to leave Vlad to flounder in awkward, but he mercifully rescued him by saying, "I'll admit it. I'm hard to get along with. Trust me, after 29 years of people trying to get rid of me in one way or another, I get it. I'm not _that_ oblivious. But..."

The thief held up his index finger as he said, "I'm not stupid. I can give you a handful of killers who made the mistake in thinking I'm dumb." Ryder chuckled and nudged Vlad with an elbow. "The more people that make that same mistake, the better off I am."

Vlad had to smile as he said, "I always knew there was a method to your madness." He became more serious as he looked over at Ryder and told the thief with all honesty, "For clarification, I don't think you're stupid, Ryder. Especially after seeing what you've done tonight. You can behave more aloof than a dog at times, but I'm beginning to see that it doesn't make you dumb."

"Thanks, Vlad. That means a lo- hey, wait a minute," Ryder broke off as he stopped and stared up at Vlad. He blinked a few times before a devious grin slid to his face as he pointed at the halfa again. "You. You can help me get the painkiller pill things."

Looking highly pleased with himself, the thief rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Oh man. Sometimes I amaze myself with my genius."

Vlad gave Ryder an odd, side-ways look as it seemed like their nice, logical connection with each other had been severed in only a few bizarre seconds. "I told you before I was willing to help," he muttered before giving up. Sighing resolutely, he asked, "What do you need me to do?"

"Oh, it'll be fun, trust me," Ryder quickly assured Vlad, holding his hands up to get his point across. "Okay, okay, this is such an awesome plan." The thief took a calming breath and lowered his voice as he explained, "So I remember Danny telling me about your powers and that you guys can, like, what's it called again? It's like...he said a word for it. Over...something, but never mind. You can control people right?"

Before Vlad could answer, Ryder murmured, his grin growing, "Well, there's a guard around the corner patrolling the hallway in front of the Infirmary. Don't ask how I know, I just do. And you can go control him, get him to talk to the doctor and distract him while I steal the medicine!"

"It's called overshadowing," Vlad said absentmindedly as he pondered deeply about the plan. In seconds he had the plan mapped out in his head with all the primary conclusions. In most cases the plan would work. The one hang up would be Vlad impersonating a guard and saying something wrong by mistake, but he didn't believe it would matter that much if he made the guard look like a fool.

"Alright," Vlad said, nodding. "That will work. Wait one moment as I overshadow him. This shouldn't take very long."

Turning invisible, Vlad flew down the rest of the corridor. Just like Ryder promised, a guard was standing there looking bored and unsuspecting. Working quickly, Vlad jumped right into things as he easily walked into the ghost, blocked off the ghost's soul, and finished the overshadowing procedure up by replacing his own as the center of control. The silent process took less than five seconds.

Letting out a calming sigh, Vlad walked with his substitute body around the corner to get Ryder.

The thief's eyes widened a little bit when he spotted Vlad, but he quickly got over his initial surprise and stepped forward to curiously inspect the guard. "Whoa, that is too cool," Ryder whispered, reaching out to experimentally poke the guard's arm. "Can you feel that?"

He shook his head and muttered, mostly to himself, "Never mind. Don't answer that. Gotta focus." Ryder led Vlad back the way he'd come, saying quietly, "Okay, all you gotta do is get him to turn away from the cabinet on his...left side? No, the right one...Okay, it's the really big one with the see-through door. Ya can't miss it. Oh, and be sure to leave the door open when you go in."

"Yes. That sounds good enough. Don't worry. I'll remember. Just do your part, and I'll do mine," Vlad said, grimacing as he tried to get used to the guard's voice and not his own. Despite all his past evilness, Vlad never particularly liked overshadowing. The only time he used it was to get what he wanted, but it had never been a skill he enjoyed honing. Taking over someone else's body was just too awkward on a personal level.

Squaring his shoulders as he prepared himself, Vlad flashed Ryder a brief smile before dropping the expression and marching over to the Infirmary door. He easily pushed it open, left it ajar just enough for Ryder to squeeze through, and waltzed into the room. He hadn't taken more than a few steps before he slowed to a stop in surprise and alarm.

_Damn it!_ Vlad thought as he was presented with the unpredicted sight of the Collector instead of the doctor.

The Collector glanced over at Vlad when he heard the door open, and he raised an eyebrow curiously. He placed the small medicine container in its place in the medical cabinet before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing another to put onto the shelf.

"What can I do for you, Zachary?" the Collector questioned politely though he kept his eyes focused on the task at hand.

Telling himself not to swallow in all his new nervousness, Vlad only paused for a second to rethink his lies before saying, "I simply have a question, sir."

The Collector chuckled softly, placing yet another pill bottle into the cabinet. He glanced in Vlad's direction as he murmured, "Well, go on, Zachary. You know I am always open to questions." As he turned his gaze back to the medicine, Ryder inched his way into the room, freezing in place when he saw the Collector.

The thief's wide eyes connected with Vlad's right before he threw himself into a silent roll that managed to hide him behind one of the hospital beds on the far side of the room. He crouched down there, breathing elevated slightly as he narrowed his eyes. Ryder knew things had just gotten ten times more complicated.

"Well, I was thinking," Vlad continued evenly despite his heart slamming into his chest, "that the humans haven't been trying to get out lately, yet we still have a guard stationed at that set of plates. I don't see why some of us have to be stationed there still. They always seem to sneak by us anyways."

As he said this, Vlad had begun to inch his way to the side of the room so that if the Collector had to look at him, his back would be slightly turned to Ryder behind the cot. At that point, it was the only thing Vlad could do to protect the man from behind spotted.

"A reasonable question, Zachary," the Collector replied, bobbing his head in silent agreement. He set a pair of needles down in one of the lower compartments before turning away from his task to look at Vlad. "I will be honest with you because you and the others have been very good to me during these rough times."

As he spoke, the ghost strolled closer to Vlad, allowing Ryder to creep along the far side of the room, being sure to keep the hospital beds in between him and the Collector.

"I have spent much time observing the humans," the Collector continued, eyes focused on Vlad. "They are much more..._crafty_ than the appear. Simply enough, I do not trust them as far as they could be thrown." He paused momentarily, frowning as he muttered, "I believe that is how the saying goes."

Vlad forced himself to shrug, shaking his head as if uncertain. "I wouldn't know, sir," he said. "You're the expert on all things humans, including their weird sayings." He paused before asking, "But the humans have remained pretty compliant lately. I've seen them. They don't do much. It looks like you finally broke them in. Why do you suspect them to be crafty still?"

"Because you are right," the Collector answered, a cruel smile sliding to his lips. He lowered his head a little as he said, "I do know them."

A soft squeaking sound and the rolling of wheels caught the ghost's attention, and he turned around to peer behind him. He remained silent for the moment as he stared at the doctor's desk and wheeled chair before returning his attention to Vlad. The instant he did, Ryder poked his head up over the top of the high-backed chair he was hiding in. He made eye contact with Vlad and gave him a wink to let him know everything was going well before he slid out of the chair and disappeared behind the desk.

"Either they are trying to fool me, Zachary, or they are truly broken," the Collector explained, his unpleasant grin returning. "I will find out soon enough."

Beyond stressed, Vlad still managed to shove a smile on the guard's lips as he nodded again. "That's smart," he said. In a joking matter and with a strained laugh, he said, "Again, you are the expert." As if thinking hard about it, Vlad asked, "How are you going to test them, sir?"

"Oh, I have my ways, Zachary," the Collector assured Vlad, chuckling quietly as he thought about it. "It will not be a very pleasant experience for them, I will tell you that right now. However, I have found that cruelty is the best way to get results when it comes to the humans. They are not as complex as they appear."

Vlad's gaze was once again drawn down to Ryder who was crouched in front of the medicine cabinet, quickly and silently searching through the bottles for the correct pills. As he was placing a wrongly chosen bottle back on the shelf, he accidentally knocked another one off. Just before it hit the floor, Ryder swiftly caught it, panting softly as he raised his eyes again to find Vlad's.

Giving the half-ghost a shaky nod, Ryder put the bottle back and continued his search just as the Collector said, "Think of the humans as a weakened and poorly constructed building. Once one finds the weakest spot in the structure, one must simply press upon it until the building crumbles completely."

Covering his mouth with one hand, Vlad nodded again. He didn't know which situation to be more anxious about: Ryder's near fiasco with the pills behind the Collector or the Collector himself revealing a plan to test them with a strong promise of brutality. Either way, the man's stomach muscles were clenched tight with apprehension. Pressing his luck, Vlad pushed on.

Suddenly shaking his head, Vlad lied with high hopes the ghost would reveal more, "I'm afraid I don't follow you, sir."

This only seemed to amuse the Collector further as he laughed again and good-naturedly patted Vlad's shoulder. "That is alright, Zachary," he said with a warm smile. "I don't expect you to understand. Well, at least not yet, anyway."

Releasing a breathless gasp of relief behind the Collector, Ryder finally found the sleeping pills he was looking for. After silently shoving two bottles into his pockets, he hastily grabbed a package of painkillers and abandoned the cabinet as he took cover behind the desk again. He paused there for only a moment before scooting over to the cots again. He knew they needed to get out of there soon.

"Though," the Collector continued, straightening up a bit as he pulled his hand away from Vlad's shoulder. Smirking, he murmured, "I suppose it would be unfair of me to leave you completely in the dark." Nodding to himself, the Collector said, "It will be a very..._shocking_ experience for the humans, Zachary."

His eyes drifted down to the ghost guard's belt or, more importantly, the handle of the taser gun sticking up out of his holster. "Such newfound technology deserves to be tested, no?" the Collector asked with a grin.

"Of-of course, sir," Vlad said, doing his best not to frown in trepidation for things to come. He paused for a second to mentally compose himself before nodding and smiling back up at he Collector. "The humans won't see it coming," he joked, chuckling a little as his insides screamed for him to get out of there.

"I certainly hope not," the Collector agreed, giving another laugh. "It's not any fun if I can't see the look of surprise and fear on their faces. It is truly something to be admired, Zachary...ah, but here I am, disrupting you from your duties. You may return to your post." He waved his hand for Vlad to leave before turning back to return to the cabinet.

As he began to place more items onto the shelves, he said just before Vlad could retreat, "And, Zachary, do try to keep this between us, hm? I wouldn't want the word getting around on what I plan to do. Understand?"

As he took slow steps backwards toward the door, Vlad nodded, saying, "Of course, sir. I understand completely."

That said, Vlad walked out the door, leaving it open slightly for Ryder to get through behind him. Soon as he was out of sight, Vlad flew down to the end of the hallway to wait for Ryder to join him, leaning against the wall as he wearily stood as a lookout. As he did so, Vlad persistently tried to calm his restless mind and body down. His only problem was that he wasn't used to the guard's body and was having a difficult time regulating it. Vlad really wanted to get out of it, but he had to wait for Ryder first.

Back in the Infirmary, Ryder continued to inch his way towards the exit, his eyes trained on the floor just before the Collector's feet. He'd found that staring at someone while you were trying to sneak past them almost always ended up with that person catching you. It had to be some sort of instinctual thing when you felt eyes watching you, but he didn't know for sure.

Forcing himself to breathe slowly and softly, Ryder continued to crawl towards the door. In all his years of thieving and hiding, this had to be the most nerve-wracking situation he'd been in. The Collector had begun to whistle a quiet, eerie tune under his breath as he continued to stack medicine, and it was truly beginning to freak Ryder out. He knew that one wrong move or sound would get him caught and captured within moments.

However, he kept his composure for the most part and reached the final cot just beside the door. All he had to do was take four steps. Four, little steps and he'd be safe. Ryder peered around the bed, eyeing the oblivious Collector's back warily. The ghost would definitely see him if he made a move for the door.

Cursing in his mind, Ryder dug deep into his pockets, searching for anything he could use as a distraction. After several moments of searching, he came up with, of all things, a penny. Looking down at the penny in his palm, Ryder smiled a little and clenched his hand into a fist.

Peeking around the cot one more time, Ryder lifted up his hand, holding the penny in between his thumb and forefinger. With a quick flick of his wrist, he threw the penny right at the top shelf of the medical cabinet and, just like he'd wanted, knocked the first couple of pill bottles to the ground. As the pills spilled across the floor, and the Collector let out an annoyed curse, Ryder zipped out from his hiding spot and hightailed it down the hallway.

He nearly yelled in surprise when he rounded the corner and ran right into Vlad. Grabbing onto the ghost guard's arms for balance, Ryder panted out, "Let's get the hell back to our room."

"Agreed," Vlad said hastily. Without any reluctance, Vlad stepped out of the guard's body and motioned for Ryder to go ahead as he positioned the dizzy guard to be facing the opposite way they were heading. Within a few seconds, the two were well on their way back to the main room.

In mutual agreement, the two leaned against a wall to recoup half way back. They were too filled with the jitters to press on further. Vlad tried to steady his breathing as he ran a hand through his hair. "Let's not do that again, shall we?" he panted, giving Ryder a wry smile.

Ryder nodded quickly as he pressed a hand against his pounding heart and muttered, "I think I'm having a heart attack, I swear." He let out a heavy breath and bent forward to put his hands on his knees. "I don't think I've ever been scared in a situation like that, but, yeah, now I can say I did that, too," the thief said, closing his eyes to try and calm himself down. "Oh, that was awful. That was just awful."

Patting Ryder on the back, Vlad gave a chuckle as he said, "Actually, that was quite beneficial. We got the pills, and we extracted some important information from the Curator without being caught or suspected. Now we can prepare ourselves for what might happen so we won't end up panicking when it does. Of course, I nearly had a panic attack when I first walked in there, but it turned out to be profitable. This is good."

"How're we gonna prepare ourselves when we still don't know what he's planning?" Ryder asked, snapping his eyes open to stare worriedly down at his feet. "I mean, all he mentioned was pain and tasers. God, I hate tasers. Have you ever been tased, Vlad? Have you? You can't get prepared for that. You just can't! It's like your muscles turn to goo, and you can't do anything about it."

Stopping to release another heavy breath, Ryder mumbled, "I don't know how I got outta that room. I swear, that was a miracle. I am the greatest thief alive."

"Well, of course you are," Vlad said, happy that he wouldn't have to answer Ryder's taser question. With his special power being electricity, Vlad knew all too well about what it felt like to tasered and more. "You wouldn't be here now if you weren't the best. Now, let's get back to the room. Tomorrow I'll give the pills to Danny so that he'll have more time to sleep them off."

Straightening back up with a groan, Ryder began to trudge his way back towards the room with Vlad by his side. He rolled his shoulders to fight away his unease as he said, "You should just give them to him now. Might as well. Especially after all the crap we just went through to get them. Besides, the sooner he starts sleeping normally the better, right? Who knows when Sir Crazy is gonna come looking for trouble."

The thief gave a small, defiant smirk as he added, "I'm so glad I stole more stuff from that jerk, though. Just wish I could see his face when he realizes everything I've taken from him."

"You're probably right," Vlad said, nodding in thought. "I'll just give him a smaller dose and hope it works enough to put him to sleep but not too much so that he's more than just groggy tomorrow morning. Ah, finally, we're here." As they pressed their backs against the door to the main room, Vlad muttered, "Let's hope Charles remembers whatever secret knock you two created."

"Heh, right," Ryder agreed, flashing Vlad a nervous grin. "The knock we...created. Yeah." Without looking at Vlad, he quickly pounded the side of his fist against the door in the beat of the first stanza of 'Jingle Bells.' He stopped, glancing back over at the half-ghost as he said with a chuckle, "Jingle bells, Batman smells."

Vlad could do nothing but release a frustrated sigh. Rubbing a temple, Vlad gave Ryder a side-ways glance as he muttered, "Hard to believe we just had a conversation concerning your higher level of intelligence."

"Hey, I never said I had high levels of intelligence," Ryder countered, his smile widening. "I just said I wasn't dumb. That's totally different, Vladster."

Before Vlad could respond with some scathing sarcastic remark, the two were shrunk down once more. Giving a quiet moan, Vlad held the side of his spinning head as he waited for the effects of shrinking so quickly to wear off. Once balance and clarity was restored, Vlad and Ryder ran back under the door with smiles on their faces. For once, one of their plans had worked without a hitch, and that was enough to keep the mens' spirits up even after they were returned to their normal sizes and the world was briefly a bleary merry-go-around.

"Whoo...whoo," Ryder said, blinking rapidly to keep himself from falling down thanks to how dizzy he was. He tried to find Chuck through his crazy, chaotic vision, but it looked there was three or four of him floating around his head. "Ah, I think I'm gonna puke," the thief groaned, leaning back against the wall to stay standing.

After closing his eyes for a few moments, he found that he was able to see clearly again. Ryder was able to turn towards Chuck this time and high-five the ghost again as he declared, "Awesome work, Chuck! Nice!"

Spinning back towards Vlad, Ryder pulled out a bottle of sleeping pills and shoved it into Vlad's hands as he pointed towards Melody and Danny who were still sitting at the table where they'd left them. "Go for it, Vlad-o," Ryder said with an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Don't let the kid scare ya. I know you can out stubborn him."

As Charles happily returned Ryder's high-five, Vlad turned back into his human form and examined the bottle in his hands. With a grateful smile reaching Vlad's lips, the man looked over to Ryder and said, "Thank you, Mr. Walker. You helped everyone a lot tonight, I hope you know."

That said, Vlad started forward and toward their usual picnic table where Melody and Danny were watching him with great interest. As he approached them, Vlad gladly announced, "The mission was a great success."

"Great!" Melody said with a relieved smile. The expression changed back into suspicion as she asked, "What's that in your hand?"

"Something extra we picked up along the way," Vlad answered mysteriously. Leaning down, he asked her quietly, "Can you get Danny a cup of water?"

"Uh...why?"

As if to answer, Vlad presented her with the sleeping pill bottle, giving it a shake so the pills rattled inside the container. With a grumble of compliancy, the girl got up and headed over to her cabin to fetch the only cup the group had. While she left, Vlad sat down backwards in his seat next to Danny so he could see the teen's reaction as he placed the bottle of pills in front of him.

Danny groggily focused in on the pill bottle, narrowing his eyes as he slowly tried to figure out what it was exactly. He lifted his head up from his arms slightly, continuing to examine the bottle. It took a few moments for it all to click inside his sleep-deprived brain, and he turned his eyes onto Vlad, giving the man a fierce frown.

"So that's why you had to go along, huh?" he demanded with a glare.

"Yes," Vlad answered evenly. "I knew you would put up a fuss if I told you before I went, so to avoid that, I didn't tell anyone my plans until the last minute. I know you believe you will eventually sleep, but we don't have the time to wait. We need you to get better, and you won't ever see progress in your sleep-deprived state."

Maybe if Danny hadn't been so exhausted, he would've seen the sense in what Vlad was saying, or maybe the teen was just too stubborn for his own good. Whatever the reason was, Danny continued to glare resolutely at Vlad as he muttered, "I don't need any pills."

Putting a hand on Danny's arm, Vlad told him sternly, "Yes, you do, Danny. How long has it been since you've gotten at least 6 straight full hours of sleep?"

Danny's glare dulled a little as he glanced off to the side and gritted his jaw. He honestly didn't know why he was so mad about this, but he was. He just hated that Vlad was probably right that his sleep pattern wasn't going to fix itself. He hated that he wasn't getting better like he should've been, and he hated that he felt pathetic and weak. He just wanted to stop worrying everyone.

"I can't remember," the teen answered in a mumble, keeping his eyes lowered so he wouldn't have to look at Vlad.

"Hey," Vlad said softly, tilting his head down to try and catch Danny's gaze, "I'm surprised you made it this far all by yourself, but there is no shame in letting others help you. I shouldn't be the one telling you this. All I want to do is help you, Danny, and these pills will do just that. Trust me. You're going to feel so much better after a good night's rest."

After a pause, Danny unwillingly nodded, though he kept his eyes focused on the table. "Okay," he said quietly. He knew there wasn't a point in resisting anymore. Vlad was gonna get him to take the pills one way or another, and the last thing he wanted to do was stress the man out more than he probably already was. Not to mention...he just wanted to sleep. No matter how pathetic it was, he just wanted to sleep so bad.

Lifting his eyes a little, Danny murmured, "I'll take the pills." The boy paused for a moment of uncertainty before he added honestly, "I trust you, Vlad."

"Good," Vlad said with a relieved, somber smile. He lightly squeezed Danny's arm, saying, "Thank you." Trying to lighten the heavy mood, he teased quietly while leaning closer to Danny, "Although I have to admit that I did foster the notion of drugging you."

A few seconds later, Melody strolled up with her cup of water. As she set the cup in front of Danny, she stated blandly, "I was hoping that when you were lying before you left that you were hiding a cooler secret than stealing sleeping pills for short stuff over here."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Hart," Vlad sighed as he opened the bottle and poured out three pills into his palm. Placing them in front of Danny, Vlad told him, "That should put you out nicely for tonight."

Grabbing the bottle off the table, Melody scrutinized the directions for a moment before saying, "It says to take two tops, Vlad."

"I know," Vlad said, "but you must understand that half ghosts have a higher tolerance to such things than humans do. Three is just enough." Motioning with his hand, Vlad told Danny, "Go ahead. The pills should take effect in around 20 minutes."

Rolling his eyes slightly, Danny grabbed the pills and dumped all three into his mouth at once before he downed them with a large gulp of water. He slowly set the cup back down and leaned his elbows back onto the table as he let out a soft sigh of relief and fatigue. His hopes that his sleep cycle would return to normal were on their way to being fulfilled.

After seeing Danny take the pills, Ryder finally arrived at the table, looking happy and content. He looked over at Vlad and gave him a wink and a thumbs up as he plopped into the seat beside Melody.

"So." The thief looked over at the girl, tilting his head to the side as he gave her the most pathetic look he could muster at the moment. "Did ya miss us?"

As Vlad positioned himself so that he was facing the others at the table, Melody shot Ryder a dubious look. "Not really," she said with a mean smile. "With you two gone and Danny as listless as ever, I actually had time to hear myself think. Imagine that."

Without missing a beat, Ryder placed his hand over the side of his mouth and stage-whispered to Danny and Vlad, "That's code for: she missed us like _crazy_."

Danny couldn't help but chuckle softly at that as he propped his chin on his arms. "Sounds about right," he agreed with a tired grin.

Smiling himself, Ryder tossed his arm around Melody's shoulders and gave her a sideways hug before she could squirm away. "I missed you too, Mel!" he exclaimed with a happy laugh.

Wiggling in Ryder's hug, she snapped back at him, "What is the matter with you? Stop freaking hugging me!" A horrible thought coming to her head, she glared over at Vlad and shrilly asked him, "Is he on drugs again? Oh, gawd! Please do not tell me he's on stolen drugs!"

Vlad had to chuckle at this. "I believe he's simply relieved after the heist," he said, still grinning at Melody's reaction.

"Yeah, Mel! It was horrible!" Ryder agreed, letting the girl go before she went nuts and punched him or something equally as painful. "The Collector was in the Infirmary, and Vlad had to distract him, and he was being creepy and weird, and it was just awful!"

He held up a hand, saying seriously, "Also, I don't do drugs anymore, thank you very much. That was a dark time in my life, and I'm never going back. Congratulations to me."

"Whoa! Whoa! Back up! Rewind," Melody said, holding up both her hands to stop Ryder from saying anymore. Shifting her gaze back and forth between Ryder and Vlad, she asked them, "You two bumped into the Collector? And you guys didn't get caught? And he said what exactly? And when were you going to tell Danny and me this?"

"Well," Ryder butted in just as Danny opened his mouth to voice his protests as well. "_We_ didn't get caught 'cause _I_ was in charge. And no one can catch me in a museum. As for what he said..." Shifting his eyes over to Vlad as he chuckled nervously due to Melody's death glare, the thief muttered, "You got this one, Vladster? I think you've got this one."

"Certainly," Vlad grumbled sarcastically at Ryder. He hated feeling Danny's and Melody's glares upon him, but there wasn't much he could do as he sighed and tried to explain. "As I overshadowed a guard to contain the Curator's attention while Ryder stole the pills-."

"Overshadowed?" Melody asked, cutting him off. "What is that?"

"It's a power ghosts have," Vlad said in a rush, trying to get to the point. "We can enter someone's body and substitute our soul over his or hers for a short time."

"Damn. I had no clue you guys could do that," Melody muttered, fascinated and creeped out all at the same time. "Why have you never-?"

"Look, I don't like doing it, alright?" Vlad said with a frustrated sigh. "What I'm trying to say is this: the Curator has plans for us. As I was in the guard's body, he told me some things. He's going to test us soon. He wants to know for sure that we have stopped fighting him. Obviously, those tests aren't going to be pleasant."

"But...I thought we fooled him," Danny piped up, sounding tired and frustrated. His eyebrows were furrowed deeply together as he thought over what Vlad had said. "I thought we tricked him into thinking we were done."

"Yeah, we thought so too, kid," Ryder said, shaking his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The Collector seemed pretty adamant that he wanted to do something to us, though. I guess he's really paranoid...within good reason, of course."

"Well...what's he gonna do to us? Did he say?" Danny unwillingly asked, glancing from Ryder to Vlad uncertainly. He honestly didn't want to know that badly, but a part of him really did. And it didn't help that he could feel himself starting to get drowsy. Extremely drowsy, in fact. He wanted to know what was ahead of them before he totally passed out.

"He heavily alluded to tasers and electro shock," Vlad answered grimly. Running a hand through his silver hair, he said quietly, "But at least this way we can know ahead of time and prepare. We need a plan for when he tests us. We need to know what kind of reaction we should give him that will allow us to receive the least amount of harm."

Shaking his head slowly, Danny looked away from the table and stared out across the room. "I can't think about this right now," he muttered. He literally couldn't wrap his tired mind around the fact that they were going to discuss ways to get only a small amount of torture instead of a lot of torture. That was just too much for him to handle.

Wincing a little bit at Danny's remark, Ryder said, "Well...we could beg. Begging usually gets the bad guys to stop...or get worse. It's 50/50 when it comes down to begging."

"Begging is an option. I think by now being stubborn and defiant won't help us," Melody muttered as she fiddled with her short hair at the back of her head. "If we did that, we could end up getting punished again, and the last thing we need is for Vlad and Danny to go at it once more."

"That is exactly what I was thinking," Vlad said, heaving a dismal sigh as he leaned his head in one hand and closed his eyes to think. "Maybe our best option is to keep playing the act we've been performing lately."

"Maybe," Ryder murmured thoughtfully, glancing up towards the ceiling. "But I think he's gonna want more, y'know? Like, he's only suspicious of us 'cause of how we've been acting the past few days. Maybe he wants more than just looking sad and acting pathetic."

The thief held up a hand, expression turning solemn as he said, "It kinda reminds me of this guy I stole from once. This guy was the meanest cuss I've ever run into in my life. Completely nuts, too. I think he read that one story: _The Most Dangerous Game_, right? Yeah, I think he read that 'cause rumor had it, he actually hunted people for fun. This man was deranged!

"But the point is, he's a lot like the Collector is now. When he caught me, unfairly, might I add, he wasn't just satisfied with begging. He wanted me to completely humiliate myself. Actually, he didn't just want me to humiliate myself, he wanted me to just go against everything I knew, basically, to avoid what he was gonna do to me."

After taking a short breath, Ryder added, "What I'm trying to say, I guess, is we're gonna have to be pretty good actors to pull this one over on him. Either that, or we're really gonna have to break, at least for as long as he's gonna be hurting us."

Opening his eyes with a solemn expression etched on his tired face, Vlad said quietly, "I think you're right, Ryder." There was no way to sugar coat it. Ryder had predicted exactly what would happen, and it only painted a dark picture for everyone's future.

Resting her head on her arms on the table, Melody whispered after a short pause, "Gawd, this is gonna suck."

Ryder put a hand on Melody shoulder as he nodded a little. "It's probably gonna be worse than just sucking," he told her honestly. Having experienced situations like this before, Ryder figured it was his place to try and keep everyone optimistic. "But we'll get through it."

He glanced across the table at Vlad and Danny, nodding firmly again. "We're so close to getting out. If we've made it this far...well, I don't see why we couldn't make it just a little bit farther. All we have to do is stick together. Y'know, like a family."

As Vlad nodded in silent, weary agreement, Melody whispered, "Yeah." She glanced up, smiled, and mumbled around her arm, "I think Danny's about to pass out. He looks beyond out of it."

Ryder followed Melody's gaze over to the teen who was slouched in his chair, staring straight ahead in a dazed manner. He didn't look upset about this, however. Instead, he looked like he was extremely happy about the fact that he couldn't focus on anything.

"Shut...up," Danny mumbled at the girl without even glancing at her. His eyelids were starting to get heavy. He blinked lethargically a couple times before yawning heavily.

Ryder chuckled quietly at the boy's response. "Aw, nothing's cuter than a tired, spiky haired Danny," he commented in a teasing manner.

"You shut up...too," Danny told the thief with an attempted glare that only made the man chuckle again.

Grinning slightly at Danny's rebellious attitude seemingly put on slow motion, Vlad wrapped his arm around the teen's shoulders and brought him close. "Shouldn't take you much longer to fall asleep," he said, adding teasingly, "I'll tell you I told you so in the morning because you probably won't remember me saying it now."

"Mm'awesome," Danny mumbled, eyes half-lidded. He yawned again and leaned against Vlad, letting his drooping head tip to the side to rest against the man's shoulder. "Looking...forward to that. So...much."

Ryder smiled proudly across the table at Vlad, giving him a subtle thumbs up so that Melody wouldn't see. In his own strange way, Ryder kind of saw Vlad as a fatherly figure to Danny now. It hadn't been like that when they'd first gotten there, but over time he'd begun to see the change in both of the half-ghosts. It was nice to not be the only dad type in the museum anymore.

Vlad threw Ryder a small, grateful smile in return before glancing down at Melody and chuckling. The girl was using her folded arms as a pillow for her head as she sat there with her eyes closed. "It looks like Danny isn't the only one falling asleep," Vlad said.

"Can it, Batman," Melody mumbled back without opening her eyes. A hint of a smile whisked across her lips, though. "I'm just resting my eyes. You know we still have to go over some more ghost tech stuff tonight before we go to bed."

"Personally," Ryder drawled, leaning over to look at Melody sternly. "I think the nerd-i-tude can wait for tonight. It's been a long day." Glancing between both Vlad and Melody, he asked with a polite grin, "Can the nerd herd take a rest for once?"

Striking out with an elbow with surprising speed and agility for someone so peacefully trying to take a nap, Melody nailed Ryder in the chest as he snapped at him, "Cut it out, Ryder. I'm not a nerd. Jeez, how many time do I have to tell you that, you moron?"

Jumping into the teasing fray, Vlad leaned slightly forward as he said with a cruel smile, "Don't deny it, my dear. You're intrigued about everything I've taught you so far. Therefore, you are a nerd." When Melody tried to kick the man's shin under the table, Vlad easily dodged the attack and caught her foot with his free hand. "A very predictable nerd, might I add."

"Hey! Ha! Let me go, you, ha ha, you jerk!" Melody said between spouts of uncontrollable laughter.

Grinning some more, Vlad said in almost disbelief, "Don't tell me you're ticklish."

Eyes widening as he rubbed at his sore chest, Ryder murmured, "No way." He didn't hesitate to scoot closer to Melody before reaching out and tickling the back of her neck experimentally.

"No! Ha! Don't - ha ha - don't touch me! No, no, no!" Melody said in retaliation to Ryder's touch as she squirmed in her seat, laughing hysterically.

"Oh, best day ever, best day _ever_," Ryder said, glancing towards the ceiling as if thanking a higher power for this wonderful discovery. He didn't hesitate to continue tickling the back of Melody's neck as he used his other hand gently poke her lower back. "The nerd's ticklish! Ha! Ticklish nerd!"

As the thief continued his merciless tickle attack, Danny forced his eyes back open and told the adults with an exhausted smirk on his face, "You guys...are like five year olds."

"Oh ho ho, ha no! Ha ha! Stop! All of you - ha - retards!" Melody gasped through her giggles, doing her best to move out of range of attack. This task was nearly impossible because Vlad still had his hold on her foot and wouldn't let her go to escape Ryder. Hearing Danny's comment only made Vlad chuckle as he realized how correct the teen was. Still, there was something immensely fun seeing the girl laugh so helplessly.

At last, Melody managed to yank her foot free from Vlad's grasp. Unfortunately, the momentum sent her off balance. With a short shriek, the girl fell backwards off the bench, landing on her back with her feet on the seat. Panting a little, she grumbled up at Ryder with a smile, "One day I am so getting my revenge on you, you moron!"

Ryder grinned triumphantly back down at her as he said with a regal wave of his hand, "So says the girl laying flat on her back on the ground." He arched an eyebrow, cheekily adding, "I think _that_ makes you the moron this time around, Mel. And I mean that in a very caring way."

"Oh, right. Sure," Melody said mockingly. Despite her fiery attitude, the girl still let out another giggle. She hadn't laughed like that in ages it seemed. It was almost refreshing. Sticking both her hands in the air, she ordered, "Now help this poor girl up. It's the least you can do."

Ryder rolled his eyes, smiling playfully as he stood up and grabbed Melody's outstretched hands. With little effort, he pulled her up to her feet. Once she was back upright, he squeezed her hands and said quietly, "I really think you should get some sleep while you can, Ice Queen." His eyes drifted over to Danny, and he smirked as he added, "A lot like Danny's doing right now."

After several long days of getting next to no rest, the teen had finally fallen into a deep, comfortable sleep.

"Aw, finally," Melody sighed, smiling at the sight of Danny sleeping sounding against Vlad. "Took the poor kid forever. He was starting to freak me out with all his staring off into space lately."

Staring down at the teen beside him, Vlad was finally able to breathe a long, shuddering sigh of relief. He had spent so many days worrying for the boy, and to see him at peace at last was more alleviating than he thought it would be. After a moment of almost overwhelming relief, Vlad looked back up at Melody and Ryder when he noticed they were watching him.

"You okay?" Melody asked with a tilt of her head.

Nodding, Vlad answered quietly, "I'm fine. I'm just glad he's finally sleeping." Clearing his throat, he said more loudly, "I think we should all call it a night for today. We can continue tomorrow, Melody, with your teaching."

"Alright. Fine," she said, nodding reluctantly.

"Don't get too excited, now, for the nerdiness," Ryder told Melody as he pulled his happy gaze away from Vlad and Danny. He pointed down at the girl and said with a grin, "Tomorrow, I'm gonna teach you a few things, too. Namely, how to get through a ventilation shaft without getting your big butt stuck in it."

Instinctively, Melody swung a punch for Ryder's arm, but she missed this time because he had gotten more wise and learned how to dodge after taunting the girl. "I can't believe you, Ryder!" she hissed, trying her best not to crack a smile. "My ass is a perfectly normal size, thank you very much. Will you ever let that vent thing go?"

"Probably not," Vlad said with a chuckle as he slowly got out of his seat, careful not to wake Danny. While the man picked up the slumbering teenager, he said, "Ryder is right, though. Our mistake last time with the vents was that you had no idea what you were doing, and that's how you got stuck. This way, none of us will have to worry about it happening again."

"Exactly!" Ryder agreed, smiling wide at having dodged Melody's punch so easily. Placing a hand against his chest, the thief said, "With me as your teacher, you'll be able to get through anything. I promise you that. You have the Ryder Walker guarantee."

His joking grin delved down a little bit as he glanced down at Danny sleeping comfortably in Vlad's arms, and he let out a soft chuckle. "Why do kids always look so happy when they're sleeping?" he murmured, shaking his head slightly as the sad smile lingered on his face. "Jet does the same thing."

"Because they're probably dreaming of all the shenanigans they're going to deploy once they wake up," Melody answered with a flippant wave of her hand. She wandered off in the direction of her cabin, saying, "Ug. I'm going to bed. Just looking at that kid out cold makes me want to do the same. 'Night, boys."

As the men said goodnight, they strolled over to their own cabin. Along the way, Vlad let out another sigh, saying to no one in particular, "It's been a long day."

"Yep," Ryder agreed as he slowly rubbed a kink out of his neck with one hand and the throbbing in his lower back with the other. Whether he liked it or not, he was starting to get older. He knew that, one day, he was going to have to give up all of his thieving stunts before his back gave out on him, but, until then, he was gonna keep chucking.

"Just like tomorrow's gonna be a long day, and the day after that, and after that until we get out of here," Ryder continued, letting out his own sigh. "And then, we can all take a vacation. A very long, very relaxing vacation with no mystery mush, tiny spaces, and creepy ghosts to bother us."

"Mmm. I wouldn't be too sure about the ghost part," Vlad said with a smile as he had to turn sideways to get himself and Danny through the door that Ryder held open for them. "When you're half ghost, ghosts seem to eventually flock toward you. I'm afraid if you decide to visit Danny and I often once we get out of here that you will have your fair share of ghost stories for your boy."

"Hm, well, it's a small price to pay to entertain the little turd," Ryder answered with a quiet laugh as he shut the door behind Vlad. After kicking off his boots and collapsing into his bed with an explosive sigh of relief, the thief turned his head to the side and looked at Vlad's back as he said, "And hanging out with you guys, of course. Seeing ghosts'll totally be worth it."

After gently resting Danny in the bottom bunk bed to avoid cumbersomely climbing to the top one or having to turn ghost, Vlad stood back up to his full height. He continued to stare at Danny as he told Ryder quietly, "It will be interesting to see how life will be like after we get out of here."

"Yeah," Ryder agreed, rolling over onto his back so that he could put his arms behind his head and look up at the bottom of the bunk above him. "I never had friends before..." he trailed off and looked back over at Vlad, smiling slightly as he closed his eyes and turned his head away.

"Just stay on the path, Vlad," Ryder told the half-ghost with a knowing nod. "The kid's gonna need you, and you're gonna need him. Being back in the real world's not gonna change that."

Ryder's words piqued a spark of Vlad's interest, and he began to think about what the thief had just said. They needed each other? He'd never thought of it that way before. Once they were free, Vlad knew Danny would have plenty of support within his friends and family; Danny wouldn't need Vlad...or so Vlad originally thought. Maybe the teen would need someone who knew more about his powers than he did himself and/or someone who knew exactly what kind of experience he had in the museum. Vlad knew and wanted to be that person in Danny's life.

_But do I need Danny?_ was Vlad's next troubling question. In all his life, Vlad never thought of himself as needing anyone. Yes, there were times where he wanted other people in his life, but never had he considered a relationship with another person necessary to his life...until now. Without Danny's support, Vlad wondered where he would be. He didn't even want to imagine the future without Danny somewhere in it.

With scary realization sinking heavily into his heart, Vlad saw that he probably needed Danny much more than the teen needed him. Although it terrified him to a certain extent, the feeling left a subtly calming aftereffect because of the knowledge Vlad had that Danny wasn't going to give up on him any time soon. Danny would be there. To dream otherwise would go completely against character, and this gave Vlad a dose of comfort.

"I know," Vlad said at last in a whisper.

Danny suddenly rolled onto his side as he curled himself into a ball, mumbling incoherently under his breath, "Stupid...box ghost. Go away."

Letting out a quiet laugh, Ryder shook his head, saying, "Man, I gotta meet this ghost. Apparently, he's even more annoying than I can be! Sheesh!" Chuckles dying down, the thief closed his eyes and murmured, "Don't forget the blanket, Vlad. He's gonna get cold without it."

Vlad nodded although Ryder couldn't see the gesture. He grabbed Danny's blanket from the top bunk and draped it over Danny's curled, sleeping form with a faint smile. Mumbling was a good sign from the teen. Even if he was having a frustrating dream with the obnoxious box ghost in it, at least it meant he was getting the sleep he so desperately needed and deserved.

Heaving another sigh, Vlad decided it was time for him to sleep as well. He climbed up to the top bunk a little awkwardly, but he made it in the end as he carefully laid down on his back with his arm crossed behind his head. For once, he forbade himself to think of plans and to worry about the future and the Collector as he closed his eyes. That night he was going to wistfully think of the good things in his life and what might come as he drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Fun chapter. I think it's cool to see Ryder and Vlad finally get to have some form of friendship bond between them. Looking back to the beginning of this fic, I would have never guessed the two would ever make a good team. Ha ha! Next chapter, though, you readers get to see what the Collector has in store for our unfortunate group of humans. I'll see you next weekend with it, then!


	29. Chapter 29 A Shocking Excuse

A/N: I'm so sorry for leaving you guys hanging last weekend! I felt really bad, but I was just too busy to edit a chapter and post it. Life has been pretty hectic for me lately, but I would like to apologize for skipping a week. But ML and I are back this weekend with this awesome chapter! I'm happy and yet sad to say that there aren't very many chapters left to this fic. About 3 or 4 left, honestly. Thankfully, they are all very long ones. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own any Danny Phantom characters. The rest are ours.

Previously In The Collector: Vlad and Ryder went on a two part mission to gather fire starting material and sleeping pills for Danny. Along the way, Vlad conversed with the Collector while overshadowing a guard, slightly uncovering a plot to test the humans to see if they are truly broken. Tasers were mentioned. In the end, Vlad gave Danny his sleeping pills, and the kid at long last went to sleep.

Chapter 29 A Shocking Excuse

The second Danny opened his eyes, he knew that he felt ten times better than before he'd fallen asleep. The teen blinked a few times as he yawned, stretching his arms above his head as he uncurled himself from the tight ball he'd passed out in. He took a moment to look around, surprised at finding himself on the bottom bunk instead of the top one.

That shock quickly passed, however, when he sat up and realized that his head wasn't throbbing. Slapping a hand to his temple, Danny smiled widely when he felt no lingering pain clogging up his brain. He could think clearly. He could even see a bit better than he'd been seeing for the past week or so.

The teen tossed his feet over the edge of the bed and stood up, his smile growing when he didn't get dizzy. Quickly looking around the room, Danny found that he was alone. After changing into a new set of clothes, he made his way outside, spotted the others at the table, and approached them with a blooming, cheerful grin on his face.

"Hey, guys!" Danny greeted them as he plopped down in his seat beside Vlad. "Before anyone asks, I feel freakin' awesome!"

Grinning as he swallowed the last bit of his food, Vlad said smugly, "I told you so."

Danny took a moment to shoot a mock glare at Vlad before he rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You think you'd get used to being right all the time, but _nooo_."

"Some people," Ryder commented with a pretend annoyed shake of his head. He quickly dropped the expression as he smiled and said, "Glad you're feeling better though, Danny."

"Yeah, we all are," Melody said, her smile suddenly turning mean. "Although you being sleep deprived didn't prevent you from being your average, obnoxious self."

"Well, what did you expect?" Vlad said as he teasingly nudged Danny's arm as the boy tried to take a bite out of his breakfast. "He is a teenager. He runs on annoying others. If he didn't uphold that tradition, he would probably be dead by now."

"Yeah, didn't you know?" Danny said, giving Vlad another glare as he shoved him back from nudging him and making him spill his food. "That's how I get my nutrients. It's basically like a flower with sunlight. Vlad's totally right. I'd be dead if I didn't annoy."

"Then by now you should be like the biggest freaking sunflower in all the garden," Melody muttered. The comment produced a short, sudden laugh from Vlad, but he quickly clammed up as he flashed Danny an innocent grin.

The teen didn't hesitate to narrow his eyes back at Vlad before turning his stare to Melody and saying with a small smirk, "No, that would be Ryder."

When all eyes landed on the thief, he simply smiled and shrugged as he held up his hands. "Guilty," he admitted without looking abashed in the least. "Though, I picture myself as more of a tomato plant...'cause, hey, tomatoes make ketchup. And that stuff's good."

Chuckling as he leaned his cheek against his hand, Danny muttered with a grin, "Case closed."

Shaking her head hopelessly, Melody told the man, "We said flowers, not fruits, you moron." She looked down at her close to being finished breakfast mush and murmured almost wistfully, "Although ketchup sounds pretty good right about now. It would put so much flavor back into my diet. You have no clue."

"Or mustard," Danny suggested, looking wistful himself as he shoveled mush into his mouth without much thought. "Man, mustard would make this stuff so much better. Like, ten thousand times better."

"Or sugar!" Ryder said, smiling dreamily at the thought of sugar. "Candy bars, and cakes, and ice cream, and soda!" The thief promptly plopped his head against the table and groaned in despair. "I want real food _so_ bad," he whined.

"Steak is the first thing I'm eating when I get back," Vlad said, a nostalgic smile whisking across his features at the perfect thought. "Steak and wine. It's settled."

"Psshh! I don't know about you, but I'm getting myself a freaking double cheeseburger fully loaded with anything I can find, fries, and a chocolate milk shake," Melody announced with a giant grin. "Screw dieting!" She shrugged, adding, "I'll just run it off anyways. Damn, I can't wait to get back on a running track."

"Me too," Ryder agreed with his forehead still pressed against the table. He suddenly sat up straight and pointed at himself as he said, "I feel so out of shape, it's not even funny!"

Danny shot Ryder a skeptical look before he shook his head and laughed. Ryder hadn't changed physically at all in three months. He literally looked exactly the same as he did that first day.

"Well, I'm getting a burger too!" the teen declared, eyes lighting up as he thought about the buffet he was going to get for himself. "And macaroni and cheese, and french fries! Salt and vinegar chips stuffed inside a ham sandwich with pickles and cheese, and a huge ice cream sundae to top it all off. Literally! I might just throw it on top of the sandwich."

Expression brightening up, Ryder said excitedly, "We should all totally hit an all you can eat buffet when we get back. First thing, that's what we should do."

Vlad suddenly envisioned all four of them, covered with soot and bruises after their epic battle of a fight to the finish with the Collector and his evil museum, waltzing casually into a restaurant and raiding their buffet table as if the all-you-can-eat sign was a personal challenge. The man had to laugh at the image in his head. "I can see that working out splendidly," Vlad said in between some chuckles.

"So can I," Danny piped up through his own laughter. His mental image was somewhere along the lines of Vlad's, but he couldn't deny that it sounded very tempting. They all deserved to gorge themselves until they were fully satisfied. "I still wanna do it, though," the teen said with a grin. "I agree. It definitely needs to happen."

He elbowed Vlad in the arm, smiling challengingly up at him as he said, "Bet I could out-eat you any day, V-Man."

"Oh, I won't deny you the pride to that title," Vlad said, returning Danny's grin with his smirk. Vlad still harbored bad memories for their second failed escape attempt when he had to eat a mountain of mush in one sitting. The last thing Vlad wanted to do was overeat on anything.

"Mmm. V-Man," Melody said thoughtfully. "Has a nice ring to it." Releasing a nasty smile, Melody asked Danny, "You have any more amazing nicknames for Vlad, here?"

Before Danny could respond, Vlad covered Danny's mouth with his hand. "I'm afraid he's out of ideas," Vlad told the girl.

"Hmm, I dunno," Ryder murmured, rubbing his chin in a musing manner as he raised an eyebrow. "I think he does due to your suspicious behavior, Batman."

Shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, Danny grabbed Vlad's hand with both of his and pulled it away from his mouth so he could blurt, "I definitely do!" Grinning evilly up at Vlad, the teen asked, in an effort to drag the torture out further for the man, "You guys wanna hear?"

Resting her elbows on the table, Melody leaned forward to put her chin in her hands. "Oh, do tell," she said with a wicked giggle.

"Where is that hideous bell when you actually need it?" Vlad muttered, sighing in defeat as he rested his head in one hand. There was no way for him to squirm out of his torture unless the man wanted to literally drag Danny away from the others or find a swift way to gag him, but that wasn't possible. Vlad decided he might as well let it go and do damage control later.

Although Danny wanted nothing more than to continue to tease Vlad unmercifully, the nickname he'd wanted to say died in his throat when he glanced over at the man. Messing with him was all in good fun, of course, but Vlad really was sensitive about his age. And blurting out 'Grandpa Vlad' in front of Melody and Ryder wouldn't just end at the table. It'd keep going and going for who knew how long.

So, with a calm smile, Danny said simply, "I'll tell you guys later."

"Aww!" Ryder whined, shoulders drooping as he automatically began to pout. "_Dan-ny_! Not cool!"

The teen held up a hand and shook his head, smirking. "I owe him one for helping me sleep," Danny explained, glancing over at Vlad as his smirk grew into a smile. "Just one, though."

Vlad smiled back at Danny, his tone more than just grateful as he said, "Thank you."

"Lame!" Melody said loudly. Shaking her head as if ashamed of Danny backing out on her and Ryder, she said, "You two are too sappy for my taste."

"Hey, someone's gotta be, Miss Ice Queen," Danny retorted with a grin. He leaned his elbows onto the table and said, "Like Ryder said. We're a family now." Chuckling, he added, "Whether you like it or not, Melody. And I think you do, anyway. So just keep on denying it. We like you just the way you are."

Melody stared at Danny for a moment, her expression calculating yet mysterious. Finally, she leaned back in her seat and patted Ryder on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ryder," she said with an acrid smile, "but I think my first conclusion was correct. Danny still remains the biggest tomato plant in the garden."

Danny took the opportunity to roll his eyes, still smiling despite the insult from Melody. He took her mean statements as her own strange way to express care for him and the others. He'd seen her be nice before to Ryder plenty of times and that could only mean that, deep down, she really did care for all of them. She was just too stubborn to admit it.

"But I thought you said it was flowers," the thief said with a confused look on his face.

_Ding!_

Laughing softly under his breath, Danny muttered, "You heard the bell. It's definitely flowers."

"Flowers. Tomatoes. Whatever," Melody said as she got up from her seat. Pointing at Vlad as they all traveled to their designated display cases, Melody called over to him, "Now look what you managed to do, V-man. The kid is more bratty now than ever."

"All part of my diabolical plan, my dear," Vlad said over his shoulder, not denying the grin that made its way to his face.

"Oh, please," Danny interjected as he slipped his hands into his pockets and smirked up at Vlad. He felt way too good today to even be fazed by Melody's insults...and he kinda liked the fact that he could be bratty again. It was more than just refreshing. "You? Diabolical? Yeah, right. Keeping dreaming."

Slipping his hands into his pockets as he adopted a casual walk, Vlad said, "Well, I can certainly behave more diabolical than you can. That is for sure."

"Let's not go there again," Danny said quickly, making a hasty retreat from bringing up his last attempt at trying to be evil. He waved his hands and shook his head as if to deny that he'd even attempted to be diabolical once. Pointing up at Vlad, the teen stated firmly, "It's easy to be more diabolical than someone who doesn't have any practice. So...so there."

"Mmm. Well, you showed me," Vlad said, nodding as he unsuccessfully tried to keep in a playful grin.

Expression morphing into a stubborn frown, Danny didn't hesitate to shove Vlad with all of his might out of retaliation. Of course, this did nothing but make the man stumble a half-step as they entered their display case. Putting his hands on his hips, Danny turned away from Vlad and watched as the doors closed behind them.

"This is the thanks I get for being so nice to you out there," the boy said with an overdramatic amount of offense in his voice. "Maybe I should've just called you Grandpa Vlad right in front of them."

"If threatening me with a nickname is all you have in your evil arsenal, then I really shouldn't be all that frightened," Vlad stated. Ruffling Danny's spiky hair with a hand, Vlad said in a lowered, threatening but teasing voice from behind, "And it's not as if you have the guts."

"Hey!" Danny protested with a laugh, swatting Vlad's hand away from his hair. He spun back around to face the man as he said with a defiant grin, "You really think I don't have the guts? We both know I've done crazier things before. And you still don't even know about my evil plan, either! Maybe the innocent kid thing is all part of my disguise to lull you into a false sense of security."

Putting his hands on his hips as he looked down at Danny with eyebrows raised, Vlad responded, "Oh, you must think you're adorable right about now. But don't let me stop you. Go ahead. Keep talking. Let's hear more scary talk from you. False sense of security, just keep going with that."

Danny waved both hands mysteriously as his smile only widened. "See? It's already _wooooorking_," he whispered, drawing the word out for dramatic effect. He couldn't tell if he was annoying or amusing Vlad at this point, but he was personally having a good time and that was all that mattered.

"You receive points for effort in presentation, if that means anything," Vlad offered with a grin.

Danny's shoulder slumped as he shook his head and laughed. He was starting to lean more towards the fact that Vlad was just as amused as he was. That was good. "Shut up, Vlad," he said through his quiet chuckles. "Or, should I say, Grandpa?"

"Now, if your diabolical plan was to be annoying, then I think you're on the fast track toward completion," Vlad sneered back.

Straightening up and crossing his arms over his chest, Danny tilted his head to the side and said languidly, "Y'know it's times like these that I wonder why I put up with you." The teen raised his hands up as he added with a cheeky grin, "And then I look around, and it all becomes clear."

"Exactly like I said," Vlad said, laughing a little at Danny's regular brazen attitude, "You are just zooming along that fast track."

"Oh, don't even act like you're annoyed," Danny shot back, continuing to grin. "We both know you'd have gone crazy long ago if it wasn't for me being here to keep you sane. So stop being so stubborn and just admit it." He waved his hand flippantly, adding in a teasing voice, "I figured you out ages ago. You can't fool me, Grandpa."

Chuckling as he shook his head in disbelief, Vlad put his hands on his knees and bent down so that he was face to face with the teen. The two shared some smirks for a few seconds, silently battling each other with their connected stares. Finally, Vlad said with a wry grin, "I hope one day you end up with a teenager just as brash and insolent as you. Then, when I'm an _actual_ age of a grandpa, it will be my turn to kick back and laugh at your misfortune."

Though the horrible thought made Danny want to shudder, he simply smirked in return. This wasn't the first time someone had said this to him, and it probably wouldn't be the last. And, until the day actually came that he had a kid who was just like him, he was going to laugh about it.

"Typical old person response right there, Vlad," the teen replied with a shake of his head. "Shame, I was expecting more from you."

"Oh, don't be scared," Vlad teased. "It's really not that hard to take care of a mouthy teenager. All you have to do is stand around and act like an adult as the kid tries his hardest to humiliate you. Sometimes you even get a good laugh in once in a while."

A stubborn frown made its way back to Danny's face. Vlad's comeback was a pretty good one, he gave him that. But he couldn't let Vlad win this word battle or the jerk would never let him forget it.

Danny crossed his arms over his chest as he grumbled back, "You're taking care of me? I think you're getting this situation confused, Vlad. Pretty sure it's the other way around."

"Hey, who was it that obtained sleeping pills for you?" Vlad said, standing up to his full height.

The boy caught himself just before he admitted that Vlad was the one who had helped him get some sleep. It was a close call, but he was able to regain his stubbornness at the last minute. "Well, technically, that was Ryder," Danny answered, holding up his index finger to get his point across as he gave a small smile.

"If you want to get technical on me, I'll assure you that it was I who had to accomplish the hard part of the mission," Vlad argued. "He wasn't the one who had to talk the entire time to the Curator."

"In what universe is talking harder to do than stealing?" Danny questioned, raising an eyebrow back up at Vlad as his cheeky grin grew. "I really think you're confused, Vlad. Do you want to sit down?"

"It wasn't necessarily the talking that was so stressful," Vlad said, ignoring Danny's jab at his age. "It was the fact that if I said one thing wrong I could evoke suspicion from the ghost." Sighing at Danny's apparent stubbornness on the issue, Vlad gave the teen a smile and said, "Oh, you're hopeless."

"Completely," Danny agreed with a laugh and a nod. He stopped after a moment, eyebrows furrowing as he decided the teasing had gone on long enough. Vlad mentioning the Collector again had brought up memories of what the ghost had promised to do to them. The last thing Danny wanted to do was give Vlad even the slightest doubt that he didn't appreciate him before a punishment. That was when they needed to be strong together the most.

"All joking aside," the teen began, his expression becoming serious. "I really appreciate what you did, Vlad, and I know that...you've been looking out for me." Danny tried to shrug away just how thankful he felt towards the man so that he didn't get too overemotional. That was the last thing they needed. Clearing his throat softly, Danny murmured, "So...thanks."

"You're welcome, Danny," Vlad said, tone genuine. Putting his hands on his hips, the man changed the subject away from the previous joking and sentimental ones and steered it toward something more practical. "Now that you have a clearer head, are you ready for another ghost power lesson?" he asked.

Danny's smile returned, and he nodded. He hadn't been able to practice since that first time because he'd been so exhausted. Now that he could actually think and focus, he was more than ready to learn some more about his powers.

Without hesitating, the boy swiftly morphed into his ghost form and eagerly said, "Let's do it!"

-Hours Later-

_Ding!_

Cringing slightly at the sound of the dinner bell, Danny stopped the exercise Vlad had been making him do that would help him to control the strength of his ectoplasm and turned towards the doors as they slid open. "Oh, finally," the teen said with a grin, letting green energy disappear back into his palms as he turned into his human form.

The boy looked back up at Vlad and explained, "It's not that I'm happy to be done, I'm just really freakin' hungry. Even for mystery gunk!"

With that said, Danny hurried out of their display case only to come to a screeching halt when he saw the group of ghost guards waiting by the picnic area. From their grim expressions, Danny immediately knew something was wrong. He looked over to the right to catch the equally confused eyes of Melody and Ryder as they came out of their case before looking back at Vlad.

"I don't like this," Danny muttered, slowly shaking his head. "Something's...not right about this."

Transforming back into his human form beside Danny, Vlad said quietly, "I believe the Curator's test has come earlier than we expected." Shoulders tight with anxiety, Vlad led the way to the guards as he said down to Danny, "Come on. Better not to drag this thing out."

"I dunno about that," the teen mumbled, swallowing hard as he unwillingly trailed behind Vlad. His nerves weren't calmed even when Ryder and Melody joined him, and the thief placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

As the humans came to a stop in front of the guards, the leader floated forward and told them in a monotone voice, "You will come with us." When he received no objections from the humans, he nodded to his fellow guards to move forward and restrain them.

Danny was yanked away from the rest of the group by a pair of guards that captured his arms behind his back and held them there as they shoved a sack over his head. As his vision went dark, the teen was shoved forward along with the rest of the humans who were in the same exact positions as he was, excluding Vlad. He was being roughly escorted out of the room by two guards like the rest, but he was the only one able to see where they were going.

Grimacing from the less than gentle grip the ghosts had on him, Ryder muttered, "This bag smells gross."

"Yeah. It smells like you," Melody retorted through her own sack over her head. She stumbled a bit because of her blindness, growling at the guards, "Stop shoving."

At the end of the line of humans, Vlad was feeling more and more nervous about their situation. He didn't like being singled out from the group. The Collector must have given specific orders to the guards not to blindfold him, but Vlad couldn't reason fast enough as to why. All he knew was that the Collector was targeting him for something cruel, and there was nothing Vlad could do to stop it.

"Yeah, well, maybe that's just your breath!" Ryder shot back at Melody, pouting a little beneath the bag over his head. He still didn't understand why everyone said he smelled bad.

"Quiet," the leader of the guards ordered, giving Vlad an undeserved shove simply to get his point across to someone. He quickly jerked the half-ghost upright again as he said, "No more talking."

"That's easier said than done for this group," Danny mumbled to himself. His words were instantly met with the guards tightening their grips on him, forcing him to wince in pain and shut his mouth. Sarcastic comments were definitely not worth pain in this situation.

The humans went silent, each lost in their own personal dread for the coming punishment. All they could do was focus on their feet and hope that everything would be okay in the end.

After a few minutes of walking, the group took a sharp turn and pushed a set of double doors open as they stepped into a dimly lit room. The floor was actually made out of flat chunks of rocks that echoed and cracked each time someone stepped on them.

Through the darkness, Vlad was able to see instruments of torture encircling an open space in the middle of the immense room. Actual chains hung from the ceilings and walls while devices such as the rack and a coffin filled with pointy spikes stood out among the vast collection. Everything from painful looking handcuffs to sharp objects were visible in the room.

It could only be described as a torture chamber.

Vlad's gaze finally landed on the better lit part of the room where the Collector was waiting for them. He stood in a ring of light in the middle of three wooden seats that had been set up around him. One had arms with cuffs attached to them, another simply had a back to it, while the last was nothing more than a stool with two steel rungs sticking out from the seat.

Flashing a grin, the ghost said, "Hello there. So good of you all to join me."

The group seemed to stiffen in the grips of the guards at the sound of the Collector's voice. Vlad said nothing as his eyes still took in the torture instruments all around him and the ominous seats laid out before them. The cold wetness of the chamber seemed to sink deep through Vlad's skin, seeping into his bones, and he noticed the others being affected by the chill. Melody even gave a shiver, her wearing only shorts and a sleeveless top. The atmosphere was perfect to create a setting of unease and fear, and that's what Vlad assumed the Collector was seeking to achieve.

The guards brought the humans to a halt in front of the Collector as the ghost shook his head and murmured, "Oh, nothing to say? Well, I suppose I understand. I'm sure you are a bit...confused." After chuckling softly to himself, the Collector nodded to the guards and said, "Let them have a seat, gentlemen."

Without hesitation, the ghosts pulled Danny, Melody, and Ryder towards the chairs while the ones holding Vlad remained still. The half-ghost was forced to watch as the rest of the group was forcibly shoved into the three seats around the Collector and properly restrained.

Melody ended up in the chair with the cuffs. Her wrists and ankles were successfully captured by the steel rings, forcing her to sit perfectly still. Ryder had been pushed into the chair with the back and promptly had his arms handcuffed behind him. He was bent forward as if to try and alleviate the pain in his shoulders. Lastly, Danny was seated on the short stool with his wrists chained to the steel rungs at his sides by glowing, green restraints.

Bringing his eyes to Vlad, the Collector smiled, ushering the guards away with a wave of his hand. They quickly retreated from the room without even glancing behind them. Before the door had even slammed behind them with a resounding bang, the Collector reached out and clamped a hand down on Vlad's shoulder.

"You're going to be my little helper today," he told the half-ghost with sick amusement. "_How does that make you feel, Mr. Masters_?"

With his insides feeling like they were turning to liquid at the Collector's announcement, Vlad had to close his eyes and let out a long sigh to soothe his nerves before answering. Looking up and over at the ghost, Vlad responded quietly, "More that just unfortunate."

"Good," the Collector retorted spitefully. "_Stay there_." Spinning lazily back around to face the three seated humans, the ghost raised his voice as he slowly stepped past each of them and removed their hoods, "Today, humans, we are going to play a little game. A question game, to be exact."

Each time he removed a hood, the human beneath it was forced to swallow down a gasp at finally seeing their surroundings. They successfully managed to stay relatively quiet despite their rising fear and unease as the Collector continued, "If your answers are not to my liking, I will be forced to punish you. How, you may ask, will you answer a question to my liking?"

Pausing again to chuckle, the ghost said, "Well, you'll just have to figure that out, now won't you?"

The group remained silent, letting their eyes travel over the various devices of torment dimly lit in whatever dungeon of a room they had found themselves in. Eventually their stares turned to one another, and they shifted uncomfortably in their confining seats as their apprehension grew. Melody shivered again in her restraints, but this time it wasn't because of the chill in the air.

Clapping his hands together, the Collector smiled widely as he said, "Let's get started then, shall we?" He promptly turned to face his first victim, saying, "Mr. Walker. I certainly hope you don't mind if we start with you today. You are usually the first to volunteer your opinion, as I remember."

The thief looked back up at the ghost as he swallowed hard and clenched his hands into fists behind the back of the chair. He couldn't count how many times he'd been put into a position similar to this, but this time was worse than any time before. Ryder's eyes momentarily strayed over to Melody and Danny's worried faces before he brought them back to the Collector. He was too scared to say anything at all, really. He didn't want to screw up the plan by speaking.

Smirking at the lack of response, the Collector looked over at Vlad, lifting a hand to beckon the half-ghost forward. "_Come here, Mr. Masters_," he ordered. Once Vlad had come within range, he reached out and grabbed his arm as he positioned Vlad to stand by Ryder's side.

"Now," the ghost said, staring down at Vlad sternly. "If Mr. Walker does not answer as I wish, then you, Mr. Masters, will be the one to punish him. And I think we both know how this will happen, hm? Do you understand me, Mr. Masters?"

Vlad pressed his lips together. He had a feeling he knew what the Collector wanted him to do, but that was partly because he had the conversation with the Curator about tasers the other night while he overshadowed the guard. The other part suspected the ghost's desires because Vlad himself had once stood in the same boat as the Collector. Either way, Vlad wanted to be clear, and he especially didn't want to arouse any suspicion.

"Not...exactly," Vlad finally answered.

Smiling all over again, the ghost murmured, "Then I'll just have to show you." He snapped his whitish eyes over to Ryder so suddenly, the thief reared backwards, pressing his spine against the back of the seat. Unfortunately, it didn't comfort him like he wished it would.

"Mr. Walker," the Collector began, standing up to his full height as he clasped his hands comfortably behind his back. He smirked as he asked, "What is my favorite color?"

Ryder's eyes widened at the question, and he stared up at Vlad, his disbelief written clearly across his face. He couldn't answer that. It wasn't even a fair question! How was he supposed to know the answer? "I...I, uh, I don't-" the thief stammered out, dropping his gaze to stare pensively at his feet.

"Tick tock, Mr. Walker," the ghost interrupted him calmly.

Squeezing his eyes shut and lowering his head, Ryder took in a quiet breath to keep himself from freaking out before he muttered, "Blue?"

The Collector remained silent for a moment before he shook his head in mock sadness. "So sorry, Mr. Walker, but that is incorrect," he told the thief with a cruel smile. Returning his gaze to Vlad, he said, smile growing, "_Use your electrical powers on him, Mr. Masters. Do it now_."

Ryder's eyes snapped back open when he heard the order, and he stared up at Vlad again, shaking his head as if to deny what was going to happen to him. His expression of horror was clearly matched by Melody and Danny as they could only sit and watch the awful scene unfolding before them.

Squeezing his eyes shut as he felt his power flow down his arm and collect in his palm, Vlad fought for control of his limb that inched closer to Ryder's shoulder. The thief shied away from the sparks emitting from Vlad's palm. Vlad panted through his effort to pause the spell encroaching on his entire body, connecting his distressed gaze with the Collector's. He shook his head. He hadn't been prepared for this.

"Please," Vlad urged the ghost, though he knew his words were falling on deaf, heartless ears, "don't make me do this."

Face surprisingly devoid of emotion, the Collector glared right back down at Vlad, his eyes flaring softly with power. He put his hand on the half-ghost's shoulder as he lowered his voice to whisper, "It is nothing you haven't done before, Mr. Masters."

Dropping his head so that he could look directly into Vlad's eyes, the ghost said with finality, "_Now do it_."

The renewed order gave the enchantment over Vlad's body a surge and a swell of uprising power. Despite his efforts to resist, Vlad had no option but to obey. Without hesitation, Vlad reached over and clamped his hand around Ryder's shoulder, his electricity powers mercilessly pouring down through his palm and into the thief.

Ryder's entire body instantly seized up, and he leaned forward, letting out a choked gasp. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move or think about anything but the pain stabbing all over his entire body. It was like someone had turned his blood into tiny ball of barbed wire.

When the pain became too great for him to stay quiet any longer, he lowered his head and let his agony be known in a wordless yell for the Collector to stop. He prayed that he'd just stop.

Satisfied by the response, the Collector said to Vlad, "_Stop_." He waited until the half-ghost had pulled his hand away before addressing Ryder, "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Panting hard, tears stinging in his eyes, the thief painfully raised his head and looked up at the ghost. His shoulders shook as he breathed, but that was all he could manage. Everything hurt. He didn't know how he'd be able to go through that again. "Please," Ryder croaked out, his breath hitching with lingering spasms of electricity, "n-not again...please."

"Well, if you answer my questions correctly, I won't have to punish you," the Collector told him with a smirk. Looking down at Vlad, he asked with mock curiosity, "It wasn't so bad for you either, was it? I certainly hope so."

Vlad flinched at all the untruth in the Collector's statement. Although he hadn't been physically hurt, Vlad still felt like he was being assaulted with flaring pangs of guilt that cut deep into his stomach. Saying nothing, the man looked away from the scene to stare off into the dim room so that no one could see him as he shut his eyes, inner turmoil raging through him. Trying to breathe properly, Vlad silently told himself to get a grip. He needed his head in the game. If he couldn't have control of his body, he still needed control over his emotions.

"Ah," the Collector murmured as if he was surprised. "Perhaps it was. Such a shame." Chuckling again, the ghost took a moment to look back at the faces of Melody and Danny. He enjoyed the looks of fear he saw. It only encouraged him to turn back around and face Ryder.

"Now, for our next question," the Collector started, smiling slightly at the retched look the man was sending him. He looked completely defeated. It was just what he wanted to see. Shoving away his deep amusement, the ghost asked, "Do you like it here, Mr. Walker?"

Ryder shut his eyes again and miserably dropped his head. It was another question he didn't know how to answer. "That's n-not f-fair," he whispered, his voice trembling. He knew he couldn't answer it right. There was no way he could. If he said yes, the ghost would know he was lying, but he'd get in trouble if he said no.

"It is a yes or no question, Mr. Walker," the Collector pointed out quietly. "There is nothing more fair than that."

The thief shook his head, knowing exactly what was going to happen to him. "No," he whispered, keeping his eyes firmly shut, "no, I don't."

Humming softly, the Collector nodded to Vlad and said, "_Use your power_." As Vlad was forced, yet again, to electrocute the helpless thief, the ghost explained over Ryder's shouts of pain, "You will refer to me as Sir or Curator, Mr. Walker."

Though it was almost impossible for him to focus through the agony of the electricity, Ryder managed to yell, "Sir!" He lurched forward again, choking on air and his howls of pain. "Ah, _no_! No, sir! No, Curator sir, I don't! I don't!"

The Collector was easily able to ignore Ryder's begging for a full thirty seconds before he ordered Vlad to stop. He took a step back to survey the gasping and crying thief, smiling triumphantly as he said, "That's my boy."

Keeping his eyes on the Collector so that he wouldn't have to look at the scared faces of the ones he cared for, Vlad couldn't help but think, _This is no test. This is just another method he's using to flaunt his power over us. He's simply bored. What a sorry excuse._

"One more question, Mr. Walker," the Collector said, stepping forward to grab the thief's chin and lift it up so he could stare into his reddened, tear-filled eyes. "Will you ever try to escape again?"

Ryder wanted to answer honestly more than anything at that moment. As his body shook from the horrible shock it had just undergone, and his breath rattled in his throat, he wanted to spit in the Collector's face and tell him that they were getting out of his museum. But he couldn't. He had to humiliate himself like he'd done many times before.

Nodding weakly, he muttered, "No. No, sir. Never again, sir."

The Collector smiled and patted Ryder's cheek as he straightened back up. "That is the right answer, Mr. Walker." The ghost swiveled on his heel, eyes landing on his next victim: Melody. He strode up to her, saying vaguely over his shoulder, "_This way, Mr. Masters_."

Leaning down to look directly into her eyes with his unwavering gaze, the Collector softly asked, "Are you scared, Miss Hart?"

Melody swallowed. She had just been forced to watch Ryder be electrocuted for really no good reason, and she was sure the same thing was going to happen to her. Even if she wanted to say she wasn't terrified, it would have been a lie.

"Yes," Melody answered, trying not to let her voice squeak in her fear. "Yes, sir."

"Ah, yes, an honest answer," the ghost said, smiling wide enough to display his white teeth. "Good, very good, Miss Hart. Perhaps you can get away with no punishment at all. You are rather clever. And...speaking of punishment, here is your next question."

The Collector leaned back upright, narrowing his eyes as he asked, smile turning sly, "Out of everyone here, who deserves this punishment the most? Be honest now, my dear. Honesty is the best policy, of course."

For a split second Melody was devastated at such a question. She didn't know what to say or how to even respond. Shaking her head, she said shakily, "I...I can't answer-. I don't-." Squirming restlessly in her chair, Melody avoided everyone's gaze as she looked unseeingly around the room, trying desperately to think of the best answer to give. She just wished everyone would stop looking at her.

Hot, confused, and frightened tears were welling up in her eyes as Melody finally answered in a squeaky whisper, "Me, sir."

"Hmm, wrong," the Collector replied with a decisive shake of his head. He looked highly disappointed in Melody's response. "I had high hopes for you, Miss Hart, but it would seem you are not as smart as I thought." He tilted his head to the side to look at Vlad and nodded towards Melody. "Mr. Masters...if you please."

"N-no," Ryder whispered shakily, staring desperately at Melody. He raised his eyes to look at the Collector, leaning as far forward as he restraints would allow him. "No, sir. Please, don't. Please, leave her alone. Please-"

"She failed to answer my question correctly, Mr. Walker," the Collector cut Ryder off without even glancing back at the thief. "Thus, she must be punished. _Mr. Masters, use your power now_."

Vlad could do nothing else but obey. As soon as his hand landed on Melody's shoulder, the electric energy coursed through her body. Melody squeezed her eyes shut at the agonizing pain that charged dangerously up and down her limbs and teared recklessly across her muscles that burned with every excruciating second. The girl cried out a few times, anything to release the torment inside her.

"_Stop_," the Collector ordered after only about ten seconds. He looked away from the girl to let her recover for the moment and stared at Ryder with a vile grin. The ghost loved the look of anguish on his face as he stared at Melody, the tears running tracks down his cheeks. His amusement only heightened when he glanced over at Danny and saw the teen biting down hard on his bottom lip to keep himself quiet, blue eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Finally bringing his eyes back to Melody, the Collector asked patiently, "I will give you another chance, Miss Hart. Who deserves this punishment?"

Gasping for breath, Melody couldn't even physically answer the question at first. It was safe to say the electrocution was by far the most painful thing she had ever encountered in her life. Every fiber in her body ached and burned with overwhelming pain.

Staring at her lap, the girl gave a quit sob as she shook her head. She could hardly think anymore as the physical and emotional pain battered her from all sides. "I don't know," she whispered pathetically, closing her eyes as if to block out the nightmare she was in. "I just want to go home. I want to go _home_!"

As if to quell her pain, though he was only going to make it worse, the Collector reached out and patted the top of Melody's head softly. He ran his hand through her hair and murmured, "This _is_ your home, my dear."

The ghost slowly pulled his hand away and looked at Vlad. "Do you know the answer?" he questioned, his voice downright sinister. He'd lost his smirk, but the dark expression that had taken over was even less pleasant and ten times more unnerving.

"Me," Vlad answered honestly as he kept his eyes transfixed on the Collector's, voice heavy with emotion despite all his attempts to keep himself steady.

The ghost simply smiled for a moment and shook his head as he glanced to the side. He was silent for several seconds before he brought his eyes back to Melody and muttered, "_Use your power, Mr. Masters_."

"_No!_" Vlad whispered feebly as he automatically complied to the command. A wince twisted the man's face as his hand made contact with her shoulder and felt the girl writhe and scream under his touch. He was forced to watch as Melody strained against her bindings as unbearable pain racked her body to the point where her wrists were red, raw, and close to bleeding from her useless struggles.

"_Enough_," the Collector said, allowing Vlad to stop Melody's torture. Instead of examining her, he focused on Vlad, his expression thoughtful as he narrowed his eyes. He was close; he knew that he was close. It wouldn't take much more to reach his goal, he was certain.

Spinning on his heel once more, the ghost breezed his gaze across Ryder's haggard and upset face before focusing in on the last person he was prepared to question today. Danny was staring over at Melody, his shoulders slumped and his blue eyes filled to the brim with tears he was still holding back.

When the boy felt the Collector's eyes on him, he slowly turned his head and met his gaze. The ghost approached the teen, dragging Vlad along by the front of his shirt.

"Mr. Fenton," the Collector said as if greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a while. "You are looking much better than the last time I punished you." Smirking again, he added with wicked intent, "But I'm sure we can fix that soon enough."

Vlad couldn't even look at Danny. He found a spot to stare at in the distance as he desperately floundered for a bit of control on his emotions. The man's chest was tight, and he felt like a moldy rock was stuck in his throat no matter how many times he swallowed. He couldn't even close his eyes in fear that the vision of Melody and Ryder writhing in pain because of him would be played out. Those images had so firmly been etched inside his brain.

"Now, what to ask, what to ask?" the Collector mused to himself, releasing Vlad's shirt so that he could rub his chin in thought. The ghost suddenly snapped his fingers as he leaned down a little to look at the younger half-ghost better. He made sure their gazes were connected before he asked, "What do these people-" he nodded back towards the three adults "-mean to you? I'm curious."

Danny held the ghost's stare for a moment longer before looking away and finding the eyes of his friends. They were all staring at him as desperately and sadly as he'd looked at them during their torture. It only made the tears burning in his eyes worse when he realized that they were going to have to watch him get tortured next.

Releasing a shaky breath, Danny whispered, "Ryder's...Ryder's like my weird uncle." A trembling smile touched his lips as he captured the thief's gaze and said, "But he's the best uncle you could ever have. H-he's fun, and he cares about me. I-I know he'd get me can-candy all the time if he could."

Danny saw Ryder give him a pathetic smile in return as his tears worsened before he pulled his eyes over to Melody. He swallowed before saying, "Melody's like m-my older sister. Sh-she can be mean, but I know that...that she cares too. She's smart; the smartest person I know. And-and I know I can rely on her when I n-need her."

The teen quickly looked away from Melody before he could see her reaction, and he glanced up at Vlad, throat clenching up more than it had before. He wished he could wipe away the tears running down his cheeks, but he couldn't. Deciding to ignore the feeling, Danny murmured, his voice shaking, "Vlad's like m-my second dad. He's there when-when I need him, and he listens to me...and he _cares_."

Shaking his head, the teen said through his tears, "He's my best friend. I mean it."

Turning his head so he could look down at Danny at last, Vlad could feel his own tears prickling at the sides of his vision. Even in the face of torture, the teen was more than willing to bestow his love on everyone in the group. What he said twisted Vlad's heart, snaring him in a dilemma of emotions. While he was happy that Danny thought of him the way he did, Vlad knew he was still going to have to provide Danny with pain in the next few minutes.

"How touching," the Collector said quietly, turning his intense stare onto Vlad. He almost smirked at what he saw, but he caught himself at the last minute. He was so close now. He just had to push the halfa a bit farther. It wouldn't take much more, he just knew it.

"Unfortunately," the ghost continued as he straightened up and put his hands on his hips. "I do not like your answer. Though, I do have one more." The Collector looked at Vlad again as he questioned with an eyebrow raised, "What do you think about that, Mr. Masters? Do you agree with what Mr. Fenton said?"

Vlad uttered a shuddering sigh, avoiding eye contact with the ghost for a few seconds as he tried to think of an answer. His emotions didn't let him get very far. He simply felt too guilty and useless at the moment to think straight. Finally, frustrated beyond belief, he returned his gaze to the Collector's and answered with a bitter nod, "Yes."

Although Danny knew he was about to be punished, he couldn't help but give a sad smile at hearing Vlad's response. Knowing that Vlad felt the same as he did gave him more strength to face this situation than he'd ever thought it would. And he knew he needed to stay strong for Vlad. That was what he was going to do.

Chuckling softly, the Collector said, "Oh, wonderful. That makes this all the more awful." He gestured down to Danny with a nod. "_Use your power, Mr. Masters. And do not worry about hurting the boy_. I'm sure he will be...just fine."

Closing his eyes with a grimace, Vlad leaned down and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder. This time, though, he could feel his electric power race down his arm faster and stronger than before, just like the Collector had ordered.

Danny liked to think he had experience when it came down to pain and, in this case, Vlad's electrical abilities. He'd experienced it more times than he liked to acknowledge, and so he thought he could handle the intense, agonizing pain it caused him.

He was wrong.

If it was possible, the electricity burned and stung and stabbed him ten times worse than any time before. He couldn't breathe, his vision blacked out, and he felt his short hair standing on end as if he'd stuck his finger in a light socket. He was almost positive that he was screaming too. His attempt at being strong had failed miserably.

"_Stop_," the Collector ordered, having to raise his voice to be heard above Danny's shouts. The second Vlad pulled his hand away from Danny's shoulder, the teen swayed where he sat, eyes half-lidded, before he toppled backwards off the small stool he was currently attached to.

The teen hit the ground with a thud and let out a quiet groan, but it was all he could manage. He couldn't even pick himself up and right the stool that had fallen over with him.

Vlad sprang into action before he even knew what he was doing. Kneeling down beside the teen, Vlad gripped Danny's arm with one hand and placed his other on the boy's forehead. The jolt of the crash to the floor could have seriously worsened Danny's concussion, and that's all that was on Vlad's brain. He'd spent so much time helping the teen, and now it seemed like he was just making everything fall apart again.

"Can you hear me, Danny?" Vlad asked urgently. "Stay awake. You need to stay awake! I'm...I'm sorry."

Danny let out a pained grunt as he pried his eyes open, staring dazedly up at the ceiling. The lights above him seemed to swirl around his head before finally falling back into place like normal. "I'm okay," the teen mumbled, hardly even realizing that he was talking. He just knew he needed to assure Vlad somehow. "I'm okay...I'm okay," he continued, voice trailing off as he closed his eyes again.

"No, no, no!" Vlad warned. "Keep your eyes open. Look at me. Focus on me." When he finally managed to have Danny's sole attention, Vlad's voice dropped into a whisper as he gently stroked Danny's forehead. Vlad didn't understand why he felt the need to say what he did there and then, but he told the teen, "I'm sorry, Danny. Not just for this...but for everything else; everything before the museum. I'm sorry, you understand?"

Grimacing in pain, Danny managed to nod slowly, his eyes watering up all over again. The only good thing about that was the fact that his tears made it easier for his eyes to want to stay open. "It's...okay," the boy said, giving Vlad a small, pained smile. He winced as he tried to shift his arms that were still chained to the tipped over stool before giving up on the endeavor of standing on his own. He was successfully trapped.

Speaking around the lump in his throat, Danny whispered, "I forgive you."

Letting a sad, somber smile finally come through, Vlad suddenly realized he was crying too as a splash of relief curled around heart from Danny's response. Sighing despondently at all the emotions jutting through him, Vlad brushed the tears out of his eyes with the palm of his hand, gave a small sniff, then bent down and kissed Danny on the forehead.

"Here, let's get you upright," Vlad said quietly as he shifted his position. In one swift but careful motion, Vlad hauled Danny and the stool back up. He rested a hand on the boy's shoulder just incase he got too dizzy and ended up falling over again.

Danny leaned forward a little, hanging his head as he squeezed his eyes shut. His vision was spinning so much it was starting to make him feel sick. And he wasn't quite sure if he was worried or thankful that Vlad's hand was on his shoulder again. That meant he was supposed to get shocked, but maybe the Collector was finally done with the torture. Maybe he'd finally seen enough. Despite his fears, Danny leaned into Vlad's hand, silently thanking his support.

Painfully raising his head, the teen looked up at the Collector, his hopeful expression dropping when he saw the look on the ghost's face. He was staring at Vlad intently, a cruel smirk twisting up his lips. He didn't even seem to be concerned with Danny at all.

"What a delightful...'father/son' bonding moment," the Collector said, his smile downright mocking. "Unfortunately, the game is not over. Mr. Masters, do answer another question for me. I am truly curious to see how far your..._compassion_ goes." He glared right into Vlad's eyes as he slowly asked, "What would you do to save them from pain? How far would you go to avoid hurting them again?"

Sniffing again, Vlad glanced out over the group. His eyes settled on each individual, his heart breaking as his gaze connected with Ryder's and Melody's stares. Lastly, he looked back down at Danny. If someone had told Vlad that he would have felt the gut-wrenching feeling of sympathy and compassion for these people a few months ago, Vlad guaranteed he would have laughed heartily in that person's face. But it was the truth. He cared more for these three people than he had for anyone else in his entire life. It was a scary, drastic thought, but Vlad could never deny it.

Turning his weary eyes back on the Collector's glaring ones, Vlad took a deep breath before answering steadily, "Anything you wish, sir."

The Collector remained silent for a moment, slowly shaking his head as he began to chuckle softly. Of course, he'd suspected that this was the case, but it felt so good to hear it spoken out loud. It was as if Vlad had just submitted to him that he was defeated, that the Collector was the winner in the end.

The ghost had known he was going to win. He'd known from the moment he discovered Vlad's weakness that he would be triumphant, but it still felt entirely too satisfying to hear it. Not many villains could say that they were intelligent enough to bring their enemies to their knees in defeat.

"It is excellent to hear you say that, Mr. Masters," the Collector was finally able to say, though he continued to smirk in delight. Turning his head to the side, the ghost cleared his throat before shouting, "Guards!" The doors immediately opened as the ghosts that had escorted the group inside returned, looking wary but solemn.

Gesturing at the humans with a hand, the Collector ordered, "Take them back to their rooms. Leave Mr. Masters be, however. I would like to have a word with him privately."

Nodding in understanding, the guards moved forward and unlocked each human from their chairs and hauled them to their feet. They ignored the quiet protests and groans of pain they received by being so rough and began to drag the humans out of the room.

Though all he wanted to do was fall down and pass out, Danny managed to squirm around and find Vlad's eyes. "Vlad," the teen muttered, his worry evident in his tone and expression. Before he could say more, he was yanked out of the room along with everyone else, leaving the Collector and Vlad alone.

A/N: Guh. Writing that scene with ML nearly drove both of us to tears, and it still makes me chest all clench up. Ha ha! I just can't help it. ML and I just get so involved with these characters. But you guys don't get to see what the Collector has planned for Vlad until next weekend, I'm afraid. I'll see you awesome readers then!


	30. Chapter 30 Finding Loopholes

A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews so far! We appreciate all your praise and support!

There is one reviewer who is anonymous who keeps asking why our protagonists don't simply wear earplugs to get away from the Collector's spell. I'll answer that question for everyone now when I say that the Collector's power doesn't really have to have the victim listening for it to work. It's actually better when the victims listen, 'cause then they can listen for a loophole. So there you go. Though you did make a very logical and excellent point with them just covering their ears.

With that solved for I think more than just that one reviewer, here is the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own anything Danny Phantom. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: We discovered that the Collector's plan to test the humans was really an excuse to torture the four, his plan all along to get everyone in the room to cry. He succeeded in his endeavor before asking Vlad what he would do for his friends. Vlad's response: anything. In the end, the Collector ordered the others to return to the main room, keeping Vlad behind for a private chit-chat.

Chapter 30 Finding Loopholes

Vlad shuddered when the doors to the torture room slammed shut behind the group of humans and guards, rendering him alone and defenseless against the wishes of the Collector. While he was relieved that their torment was finished, Vlad was still overwrought with stress just thinking about the punishment in store for him. It could be anything, but anything was better than putting his loved ones through so much pain. Squaring his aching shoulders, Vlad was prepared to suffer the consequences of his weakness as he boldly met the white gaze of the Collector.

The ghost responded by smiling darkly and shoving Vlad backwards so he stumbled into the chair Melody had been seated in moments before. Only once he'd fallen into the chair did the Collector graciously say, "Please, have a seat."

Without waiting for a response, he slowly circled the seat Vlad was in, saying quietly as if he was speaking to himself, "I would say that I'm surprised by your actions, Mr. Masters. But, to do that, I would have to be shocked at how pathetic you are. There was a time when I told you your care would be your downfall. Do you remember that, Mr. Masters? Do you see that I am right now?"

Swallowing in his growing anxiety, Vlad cautiously followed the Collector's circling movement with his eyes. A flash of his old rebellion and stubbornness tempted Vlad to retort something snarky back at the ghost, but Vlad managed to bury the feeling. There wasn't much he could do now, and being obstinate would only cause suspicion.

"Yes, sir," Vlad answered helplessly.

Nodding his head slightly, the ghost muttered, "Good, good." He continued to stroll lazily around the chair, knowing that his actions had to be unnerving to the half-ghost. That was all he was really trying to do at this point.

"However," the Collector continued, "though, I think you have been properly punished, I still feel as though something is not quite right." He paused behind the chair so that Vlad could hear but not see him. "I think you are trying to hide something from me...or, perhaps, I simply wish for entertainment. Perhaps, I am bored. It would be cruel of me to deny that possibility."

He chuckled benignly at the thought before saying, "So, the solution is simple, really." Before Vlad even had time to contemplate what that could be, he heard a buzzing, sparking sound directly behind him. He couldn't react before the white, hot taser was shoved painfully against his ribs by the Collector and activated on full charge.

Vlad let out a strained scream as the familiar jolt of pain seized his body. Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, Vlad knew how to ride out the electric pain coursing through his body. Although it was crippling, Vlad had personally gone through worse tests of electrocution. Despite that fact, every contact with the unstable element was beyond painful, just like this encounter.

The Collector pulled the taser away after a few moments and stared down at the sparking device in wonderment. "So that is what it does," he murmured, completely fascinated by the effect it'd had on Vlad. He dropped his eyes back down to the halfa, smiling at the discovery. Who knew such a small device could cause so much discomfort?

"Thank you for testing this for me, Mr. Masters," he said, lowering the taser back as he moved to stand at Vlad's side. "Painful, wasn't it?"

Panting laboriously, Vlad gave a groan as he wiped off beads of sweat that had collected on his forehead with the back of his hand. Glancing up at the Collector standing close by his side, the man grumbled out, "Yes, sir." With all his stupid answers, Vlad felt like a robot. A very misfortunate robot.

"Wonderful," the Collector replied with a cheerful grin. He slid the device back into his pocket, kneeling down to look into Vlad's eyes. "Now, all fun aside, I have something to tell you. I believe you will find this unfair, but I think we both know that I do not care what you think by now."

He chuckled momentarily before becoming serious as he said, "_For the next 24 hours, you will use your electrical power on any human that so much as touches you for a moment_. It will be much like this taser did to you, I'm sure. Merely, a simple reminder. I believe that humans train dogs in this manner, yes? And one more thing, Mr. Masters. _You can not tell them about this command. When they ask why you have done this to them, you will not answer or explain yourself_."

The ghost smirked as he added, "I am certain they will figure it out eventually, but it will certainly be entertaining until then."

Pressing his lips together, Vlad had to bite back a protest. Curling his hands into fists on the arm rests, the man narrowed his eyes on the Collector into a dark, threatening scowl. Vlad knew he was the hapless mouse stuck in the corner and the Collector was the cat striking out to play with its favorite meal, yet there was a certain part of Vlad that wanted him to retaliate and go down swinging. Vlad had to fight this swelling, instinctual feeling before he could answer. One snarky remark could ruin everything.

A few seconds passed before Vlad let out a resigned sigh. Closing his eyes, all he could do was nod in understanding.

"I think I am beginning to prefer this rather tranquil side of you, Mr. Masters," the Collector commented with a laugh. He stood up, reaching out to grab Vlad by the back of his shirt. He yanked the half-ghost to his feet and dragged him towards the door, making sure his strides were long so that Vlad had to stumble to keep up.

"No more back-talk. No more pathetic attempts to anger me or annoying remarks." The ghost let out a content sigh, tightening his hold on Vlad's shirt to make him stumble even more. "To let you in on a small secret, Mr. Masters, I am quite looking forward to a new round of humans to break in as I have done to you. Perhaps I could make a sport of it, hm?"

Struggling in the ghost's grip and striving uselessly to keep up with the quick pace, Vlad glanced up at the Collector with disgust. The feeling was not only for the Curator, though; it was also targeted at himself.

Before arriving at the museum, Vlad saw breaking others as a very fine art he had become very skilled at. People had simply been wet clay to play with and mold into exactly what he wanted. They had been nothing but pawns to play with. Personally breaking someone defined your ability to control others and show your authority and power. Danny was going to be Vlad's masterpiece before they were captured. Breaking him was going to be the most satisfying thing Vlad had ever accomplished, but now the thought churned his stomach as guilt ate away at his insides.

It was only ironic justice for Vlad to see himself now as a piece of fine sculptured art on someone else's shelf.

Upon receiving no response, the Collector grinned to himself and stared ahead. It was just what he wanted. Silence meant that the humans were broken, in some manner, at the very least. Even if they were trying to fool him, he knew that, without a doubt, he had broken Vlad. The man had changed completely since being brought to the museum, and he had admitted it himself.

There was nothing more satisfying to the Collector than this realization.

"Well, here we are," the ghost announced once they reached the main room. Pressing his hand to the tablet to open the door, the Collector looked down at Vlad and gave him a happy smile. "Do enjoy yourself, Mr. Masters," he said as the doors slid open. He shoved the half-ghost inside, promising just before the doors closed again, "I'll be watching."

As Vlad turned to face the rest of the room, he saw the group sitting on the ground very close to the exit, nursing their own personal wounds. He could only guess the pain had been too great for them to get very far away. They each looked up when they saw Vlad, relief evident in the expressions on their faces.

Though it looked like it pained him, Danny struggled to his feet, narrowing his eyes as the world spun for a moment. "Vlad, are you okay?" the teen asked, taking a few, unsteady steps towards the man.

Remembering the curse he was under for the next 24 hours, Vlad clasped his hands behind his back and took a step away from Danny as he nodded calmly. Since he wasn't able to explain what his punishment was, Vlad decided he was going to have to lie. It would be better than having to say nothing.

"I'm fine," Vlad answered after clearing his throat. "His only punishment for me was some simple, taunting words and a test to see what a taser did. I've been through worse, so don't worry." His frown only deepened in concern as he said, "Quite honestly, I'm more worried about all of you."

Danny stopped and gave Vlad a confused look before he glanced back at Melody and Ryder. He knew they didn't look very good, but he couldn't blame them. They weren't used to being hurt by ghost powers. After shooting Vlad another uncertain glance, he slowly sat back down between the two thieves, wincing as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling. It made his head hurt less.

It wasn't like he'd been expecting a hug from Vlad...but, honestly, he'd kinda been expecting a hug from Vlad. Turning his head to the side with a soft sigh, Danny said, "Are you okay, Ryder?"

The thief was curled into a ball on his side with his eyes tightly shut. He nodded in a daze as he pressed a hand against his rapidly pounding heart. He felt like he was having a heart attack, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. He thought he'd be okay...eventually.

Not looking very convinced and only more worried, Danny looked the other direction at Melody. "You okay, Mel?" he asked quietly.

"I feel like shit," Melody answered in a mumble from where she laid on her side with her arms wrapped tightly around her midriff. Her entire body still ached. Every muscle was more sore than she thought possible. Even breathing kind of hurt. "How is your head?" he asked after a pause.

"It's fine," Danny answered instantly only to pause and frown when he remembered what Vlad had said about being honest when he was hurt. After releasing a sigh, he muttered, "It hurts...kinda a lot. I really gotta stop hitting it, I guess. That might...y'know, help. I'm...I'm really fine, though."

"That's good...I guess," Melody said, trying her best not to move. She moved her eyes away from Danny and settled her stare on Vlad. Instantly, she knew something wasn't right. He was rigid with nerves, his face was sullen with guilt and concern, and there was something very stand-offish to his posture.

"What happened that you're not telling us, Vlad?" she asked, her eyebrows hurting as they lowered in worry.

Vlad silently shook his head, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see their stares all settling on him. He didn't have the time or the energy to supply a believable fabrication. "Nothing," he lied weakly. "It was nothing."

Panting softly as his heart rate finally began to slow, Ryder whimpered out with a frown, "You're lying."

Danny glanced over at the thief before nodding with a grimace. If Ryder thought Vlad was lying, then the man had to be. But why? "You are lying," he agreed, slowly sitting up so that he could look at Vlad better. Holding his spinning head in his hands, the teen said softly with concern evident in his voice, "Vlad...you can tell us. It's okay. What's wrong?"

"Look, none of you understand," Vlad said sternly, trying to hide his true emotions behind some frustration. "I can't te-. I can't-. Mmm." Vlad clamped his mouth shut and glared at the ground as he realized he couldn't even tell the group that he couldn't tell them what happened. At last, he sighed irritably and said, "It would be best if we simply dropped the subject."

After sharing a look with Melody and Ryder, Danny stared back up at Vlad, trying his best not to show how upset the man's attitude was making him feel. He sounded mad at them. Why would he be mad at them? Clearing his throat, the teen nodded, dropping his eyes to stare at the ground. "Okay," he said quietly.

Swallowing down the lingering tears he felt in the corners of his eyes, Danny glanced at the thieves again as he softly asked, "Do you want me to get you guys anything? I can get those painkillers. I still have a lot left."

"That...would be awesome, actually," Melody said, wincing as she nodded by mistake. As she painfully sat up, she mumbled through her pants of pain, "I think I'll take those...then go pass out on my bed...to sleep the soreness off."

Seeing that everyone was going to want to get up, Vlad quickly offered to avoid helping them, "I can get the pills. Where did you put them, Danny?"

"I can get it," the boy muttered, slowly pulling himself back to his feet as he avoided looking at Vlad. "You guys...just stay here," he told everyone, squinting his eyes when his vision swam again. Danny shook the feeling off as he made his way towards the cabin in a woozy but determined pace.

Ryder didn't even bother to move from his spot on the floor. Everything hurt too much, and his shoulder where Vlad had directly shocked him had swollen up so that he couldn't even move it. All he could do was look up at Vlad, eyes narrowed as he silently tried to figure out what was wrong. He didn't understand it.

Vlad watched as Danny left, sighing inwardly in all his nervousness. There was only a certain amount of time Vlad knew he had where he could avoid touching the others, but eventually they were going to either touch him, get shocked, then get angry at him or they were simply going to get angry at him as he went to the extreme to avoid them. Either way, Vlad knew his situation wasn't going to end well until the 24 hours were up and he would have the ability to explain. The man could only hope he could keep an ounce of their faith and trust in him until the time came.

Till the curse's time was up, Vlad tried to think of the punishment as a challenge. It would be the only way to soothe the pain and turmoil sloshing around in his heart.

Danny returned relatively quickly, having put on a brave face and wiped his tears away. He was upset by how hurt his friends were and the pain in his head, but all of that was dwarfed by Vlad's behavior. Vlad was mad at them, and he couldn't understand why.

The only thing Danny could think of was that Vlad was upset with him for what he'd said right before the man had been forced to zap him. Maybe Vlad didn't want him to see him as a father figure...but he couldn't exactly help it. The teen didn't know when the switch had been made, but he couldn't change that now. That's what he thought of Vlad...whether the man liked it or not. And...he guessed he didn't.

Taking in a shuddering breath, Danny slowly kneeled in front of Melody to hand her two pain pills and the cup of water. He then turned his eyes to Ryder, his expression becoming more haggard when he saw that he hadn't moved an inch since they'd been brought here. He was in rough shape.

Danny forced his expression to stay strong as he moved over to the thief and prepared to help him sit up. Hesitantly looking up to Vlad, though he dropped his eyes again almost instantly, Danny murmured, "Vlad...can you help me lift him up?"

"No, I think you're doing fine on your own," Vlad forced himself to say as politely as possible.

Glaring steadfastly up at Vlad, Melody asked cooly, "Then can you help me up?"

Vlad flinched at her tone. "You have to understand," he said as he raised his palms in an attempt to keep things peaceful, "I just...I just can't. I can't help, and I'm sorry. I truly am sorry, alright?"

Before Melody could yell at Vlad, Danny quickly interjected, "I can help you, Melody. Just...just let me get Ryder." He looked down at the thief who looked right back up at him with an apologetic expression. "I got you," Danny assured the man as he looped his arms through Ryder's.

"On three, okay?" Danny said, closing his eyes to keep himself composed. He couldn't believe Vlad wasn't going to help him. He could hurt Ryder more by doing this himself, but...there wasn't a choice, apparently.

"Okay...one, two, three," the teen grunted as he hauled Ryder upright with very little help from the weak thief. It didn't help that Danny wasn't feeling so good, either. Panting softly, the teen strained to get Ryder up to his feet. He never would've thought the simple act of helping someone stand up would be so hard.

After struggling for a good minute, Danny got Ryder to a standing position, but the thief had to lean heavily onto him to stay standing even as he apologized profusely.

"It's okay, Ryder. It's okay," Danny told the man several times, breathing hard as he looked down at Melody next. He hoped he could lift her easier than he had Ryder. "Just...stand here for a minute, okay? I'm gonna get Mel. You can do it, alright?"

Ryder nodded as he unwillingly let go of the boy and swayed where he stood. His entire body felt like one gigantic sore spot. Just standing there hurt him tremendously. Breathing shakily, he looked back at Vlad, his eyes marred with confusion and hurt. He stayed quiet, though. He just...didn't have anything to say.

"Okay, I got you, Melody," Danny tiredly told the girl as he held out his trembling hands for her to grab so that he could pull her up. "I won't drop you...I promise."

"Thanks, short stuff," Melody said quietly as she grabbed his hand after shooting Vlad an icy look. She gave a groan as he helped her to her unsteady feet. Being younger had helped Melody spring back better than Ryder after the electrocution. She didn't need any more of the boy's help as she slowly stumbled off in the direction of her cabin, but not before patting Ryder on the shoulder and flashing Danny a grateful smile. She ignored Vlad completely, too confused and frustrated by his odd actions to dwell on the subject of him that night. In the morning she would have plenty of time to chew him out, she knew.

Danny watched Melody go before focusing back on Ryder. It upset him how awful the man looked and the fact that Vlad wasn't doing anything at all to help. Telling Vlad that he was like a dad to him couldn't have ticked him off that much, could it?

Scrubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, Danny said in a choked voice, "C'mon, Ryder. I'll...I'll help you back to the cabin." He looped the man's arm around his shoulders before looking over at Vlad again, his teary eyes quickly returning though he was trying to fight it.

"I'm...I'm sorry," Danny murmured, voice shaky. "I didn't...didn't mean to make you mad."

"No, no, no!" Vlad protested as he rushed forward to desperately make amends. He went around the two so that he was in front of them and walked slowly backwards as he explained as they traveled toward their cabin.

"I'm not mad at you, Danny!" Vlad said in a pleading, helpless fashion. "I'm not mad at any of you. I'm angry at the Curator, that's all. And right now I want to help. I'm not lying this time. You know I want to help. I simply...can't. I'm sorry."

Danny still didn't understand. He looked up at Vlad's begging expression for a moment longer before staring down at his feet. He knew there was something he was missing...but he didn't know what it was. If Vlad wasn't mad at them, why wasn't he helping them?

Ryder's eyes were drawn down to the boy, and his expression saddened at how upset the kid looked. He hugged Danny weakly and ran his free hand through his hair to try and calm him down. He knew Danny was just as frustrated and confused as he was by Vlad's actions...probably more. And he didn't know what to do to help. He was just...useless.

Looking up at the older half-ghost, Ryder mumbled grudgingly, "Can you at least open the door, Vlad?"

Looking quickly behind him, Vlad realized he was at the cabin already. Nodding, he said, "Yes, I can do that." Moving swiftly to avoid touching the two, Vlad grabbed the door and swung it open for Danny and Ryder. He gave them a wide girth as they entered the shabby building at a snail's pace. It pained Vlad to see them struggling so much with him unable to help either of them, but there wasn't much he could do.

"Gee, _thanks_," Ryder sarcastically muttered, hanging his head low as his breathing got harder from strain. It was really challenging to walk with Danny because the kid was so short, and he had to lean pretty far down just to keep from falling over. It didn't help that he knew his inability to walk was hurting Danny, too.

The thief let out a loud, pained breath when they finally reached his bunk, and Danny helped him lay down. The teen disappeared for a moment, but returned to his side almost instantly with a few painkillers and water.

"Thanks, Danny," Ryder whispered, keeping his eyes squeezed shut as he downed the pills without the use of the water. He leaned back against his pillow, the tension and strain slowly leaving his limbs as he tried his best to relax. Reaching out blindly, the thief patted Danny's arm as he mumbled, "Thank you."

Panting softly from having worked so hard to get Ryder here, Danny could only grasp Ryder's hand and squeeze it comfortingly. Within moments, the thief had passed out with Danny still holding tight onto his hand. The boy just needed some sort of contact from anyone. Even an unconscious Ryder would do.

Without opening his eyes or moving from his spot kneeling by Ryder's side, Danny quietly said, "I believe you, Vlad. I...I don't know why you're acting like this, but I...still trust you. I trust you, Vlad."

"Thank you, Danny," Vlad said wearily from where he was leaning against the closed door. He was silent and thoughtful for a minute or two before he decided it was time for him to take charge. He couldn't allow himself to wallow in his guilt anymore, not when his situation was causing too much pain all around him. If the group could only know what was going on with him, Vlad knew things would be better for everyone.

So it was time to find some loopholes.

"Let's talk," Vlad said to Danny. He motioned his head, saying, "Not in here, but at one of the tables. You're smart enough to figure this out."

Danny looked over his shoulder at Vlad, confusion marring his expression as he was forced to drag his hand across his eyes again. "I don't know about that," the boy muttered, dropping his stare back to Ryder's face as he slowly let go of his hand and stood up.

If Vlad needed him to figure out whatever the heck was going on, then that's what he was going to do. No matter how much he just wanted to pass out like everyone else, he'd figure it out.

Danny slowly turned to face Vlad as he said, "But I can try."

"Good," Vlad said with a relieved smile, nodding. He opened the door again for Danny, letting the teen go through before walking with him toward their usual table. The entire time, Vlad vigilantly kept his eye on Danny to make sure they wouldn't touch. Once they got to the table, Vlad pointed to one seat, ordering, "Sit here. Don't move, please."

Without waiting for a reply, Vlad moved to the other side of the table and sat across from the teen, still giving Danny a wide girth just incase. The last thing either of them needed was for Danny to accidentally brush his leg or hand against Vlad's and electrocute himself.

Danny put his hands in his lap as he stared across the table at Vlad. He didn't know why the man didn't want him to move, but he was going to try his best to listen. After clearing his throat and glancing down momentarily, the teen lifted his eyes and met Vlad's gaze.

_Might as well try to start figuring this out_, Danny reasoned with a tense sigh.

"So...what's going on exactly?" the boy asked after deciding to start off with the basics.

Vlad shook his head, trying to form words in his mind to answer, but no sentence could solidify and manifest fully because of the Collector's order. "Wrong question," he said at last. "You will have to be more creative than that. You know how the Curator and his power works."

"...Right," Danny agreed after a pause. His furrowed eyebrows rose as he muttered in realization, "So the Collector did this...whatever this is. Okay. Alright. You're not just mad about what I-"

The teen broke off and shook his head. Now wasn't the time. "You can't talk about it," he said as he stared down at the table. It was so hard to think with his head in so much pain, but he had to fight through it. Glancing up at Vlad, Danny slowly asked as he held out his hand, "If I challenged you to a thumb war battle...would you accept?"

Vigorously shaking his head, Vlad answered, "No." He smiled a little as he added to lighten up the mood, "And not because the notion is silly. You're on the right track, though."

"Yeah, I'd probably just crush you, anyway," Danny remarked, smirking momentarily before he dropped his eyes again and frowned in thought. "You can't talk about it...and can't touch me. Why can't you touch me, though? That's the question."

He quickly ran through a list of reasons why Vlad would avoid touching any of them, going so far as to be mean about it to accomplish that task. After eliminating the stupid possibilities, like giving Vlad a high-five would result in opening up some portal to another dimension, Danny found himself with one solution.

"You'd hurt us, that's it," Danny muttered as if it was obvious, and he looked up at Vlad again. "You can't touch us 'cause you'd hurt us, right?"

"I told you you were smart enough to figure it out," Vlad said with a small, sad smile.

Danny sat back in his seat, running a hand through his hair as he took in what he'd just discovered. His expression of disbelief was quickly replaced by disgust as he mumbled angrily under his breath, "The Collector's sick. That's so sick. As if what he did wasn't enough! Now he's doing this. I just-"

The boy shook his head, dragging his hand through his hair again to calm himself. "You'll probably blast us or punch us, right?" he asked without expecting an answer. "Maybe some more electricity. That's just awesome." Danny blew out an explosive sigh before he straightened up, his eyes going wide. "This isn't permanent, is it? It's gonna go away, right? Like in a day? Two days? A week?"

"It's not permanent," Vlad assured Danny. "He said...," the man faded off as he was unable to finish the sentence. Blowing out a stressed sigh, Vlad ran both his hands through his hair while gazing ahead. Turning his eyes back on Danny, Vlad said, "I'm sorry I upset you and the others by lying at first. I didn't think it was the time or the place to play guessing games and charades."

"It's...it's okay," Danny said shakily, dropping his hands back into his lap. "I just...I didn't know why you were being mean, and everyone was hurt, and I thought it was because of what I said about you..."

Once again, the boy trailed off and looked away. He guessed he just couldn't say it again when he was still so shaken up by all that had happened. Suddenly raising his eyes from the tabletop, Danny told Vlad, his voice surprisingly firm, "Don't lie to us again, Vlad. I mean it."

Surprised by Danny's command, Vlad sat frozen in his seat for a second in shock until he fully realized just how much he had hurt Danny with his lies. He could see it in the teen's watery eyes: the pain he must have felt when thinking Vlad had rejected him. If Vlad had felt bad before, it couldn't compare to how his gut wrenched in that moment of realization.

Taking a deep breath, Vlad nodded solemnly, saying, "I won't do it again." Making an effort to keep his eyes connected with the teen's, Vlad went on to say in a stumble of heartfelt words, "Furthermore, what you said back there about the others...and me, especially,...I appreciate it, Danny."

The boy shrugged, dropping his eyes again out of embarrassment and relief. It was kinda sad when he felt relieved after finding out that Vlad couldn't touch any of them without hurting them, but that was where he was at. That realization was ten times better than the other conclusion he had come to.

Danny dragged his fist across his cheek, sniffed, and muttered while continuing to scrutinize the tabletop, "I was just being honest. I figured it...it couldn't hurt considering the situation."

"I hope-," Vlad started, but fear quickly cut him off. Thankfully, determination set in as he continued to stare at Danny's forlorn form. Vlad would do anything to cheer him up, and if that meant saying something vulnerably truthful, Vlad was willing to take that risk.

Leaning toward the teen but still careful not to touch him, Vlad told him resolutely, "I hope you know that I think the same of you, Danny. I think of you now as, well...as the son I never had."

When Danny looked up again, his eyes were more noticeably filled with tears, but he was smiling. He nodded, pressing his lips together so he wouldn't bust out crying. It was just...Vlad didn't usually say things like that. Sure, Danny could usually tell, as of late, what the man was thinking, but he didn't just say what he felt.

Hearing Vlad openly admit something like this was startling, but in a good way. It left him feeling speechless.

"I-I'm so glad to hear you say that," Danny eventually stammered out, brushing tears from his eyes with the back of his hand as he kept smiling.

Grinning at the apparent relief and joy that Danny now felt, Vlad said, "I would hug you right now if it wouldn't hurt you."

"That's okay," Danny assured Vlad, nodding his head with a small, happy laugh. He didn't think he'd be so relieved to hear Vlad say what he did, but he was definitely wrong about that. "Just save it up for later. I think I can wait."

The teen paused and raised an eyebrow as he added cheekily, "Until then, why don't you just use words of affirmation, huh? You apparently like that a lot or so I've heard."

Glad to see that things were going back to normal and Danny's sarcasm had returned with a vengeance, Vlad chuckled a little. "I used my words to affirm you only a minute ago," he told the teen. "Or weren't you paying any attention? Typical teenager."

"Hey," Danny said, holding his hands up defensively. "I hit my head _again_. It's a miracle I can even talk right now, to be honest." As he spoke, he rubbed the back of his head and grimaced as if he'd just remembered that his head was hurting pretty badly again.

Before Vlad could even ask him, the teen dropped his hand and muttered, "I'll be okay."

"I know you will," Vlad said quietly. Nodding toward their cabin, he suggested, "How about you take some more pills and go to bed? It's been another long day, and tomorrow will most likely be the same." As he said this, Vlad closed his eyes and tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I will," Danny promised though he didn't move to get up. Instead, he frowned steadily back at Vlad. The man wasn't fooling him. He knew that something was still wrong, and the only way to fix that was to talk about it...at least for a little bit.

The teen crossed his arms over his chest as he asked, "Are you gonna be okay? You can talk to me, y'know?"

Nodding, Vlad sighed and said, "I know." He stared out unseeingly into the distance for a few seconds before lowering his eyes to the table. Without looking up, the man admitted, "I'm coming to the hard but truthful realization that...that I haven't done very many wholesome things in my past...and those things are coming back to haunt me."

Danny had been expecting a few things. Vlad saying that he felt guilty for what he'd done and that he concerned for their safety or maybe how crappy he felt for being forced to do that. And, though he knew the man felt this way, he still hadn't been prepared for him to say anything different.

Swallowing a little, the teen hesitantly asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've hurt a lot of people, Danny. I've backstabbed and blackmailed without remorse. I've gone out of my way to make some people's lives miserable...including yours, I'm afraid. I'm positive I've even inadvertently killed people too," Vlad confessed as he continued to stare at the table. He'd never been in this position before. The man didn't know what to say or do, so he just said what came to his mind in hopes that Danny would listen and understand him somehow.

"The guilt for my actions is catching up with me," Vlad went on, running his hand through his hair. "I can't get rid of it. I'm...I'm almost afraid to get rid of it. For when I do, what will that make me?"

Danny stayed quiet for a few moments as he processed everything. It was hard to hear the bad things Vlad had done because Vlad was such a different person now. He hated seeing Vlad like this, but he knew he had to tread carefully. Vlad was in a bad place right now.

"Vlad," the boy began slowly, keeping his solemn eyes focused on the man. "If you didn't feel guilty about those things, then there'd be something to worry about."

Shifting his feet beneath the table, Danny quietly continued, "The guilt's good...but you're gonna have to let go of it eventually. You've changed so much and all for the better, Vlad. You're a different person than you used to be. You're someone anybody can look up to. _I_ look up to you. You...you could do so many good things, but only if you can let the guilt go. If you don't...you won't ever be happy."

Danny stopped and took a shaky breath. He felt like he was pleading with the man. He wanted- no, Vlad _deserved_ to be happy. "You have to let the past go. Forgive yourself, Vlad," the teen murmured.

Vlad silently nodded in understanding and agreement, closing his eyes as he rested his forehead against his hand. He struggled with his words before finally saying mournfully, "I just...I don't know how to do that right now."

"That's okay," Danny assured Vlad, wanting nothing more than to be able to hug the man. He felt so helpless. All he could do was try to make Vlad feel better with his words. He couldn't make the problem go away, and he didn't have the perfect solution, either. He just had to have faith that Vlad could forgive himself.

Trying to keep up a strong front, the teen said firmly, "You'll figure it out when you're ready, Vlad. It's not gonna happen all at once...but I'll be there to help. I promise."

Smiling slightly at Danny's truthful and comforting words, Vlad opened his eyes and raised them to meet Danny's. He was silent for a moment as he studied the teen. Danny was always so concerned about coming off as physically strong for him and the others, but Vlad wondered how much Danny knew about how emotionally and spiritually strong he really was and how more prosperous that was in his life. For someone so young, the teen was now one of the strongest people Vlad knew.

"Thank you, Danny," Vlad said at last.

Danny returned the man's smile after a short pause. He wasn't positive if he was helping, but he could at least hope that he was. Vlad didn't look as terrible as he had a few minutes ago, so maybe he'd done something right. It was still hard to tell certain things when it came down to Vlad.

"Someone's gotta take care of you, cheesehead," the boy replied.

Vlad couldn't help but give a short chuckle. For someone so strong, the teen sure did have an immature, snarky side to him which Vlad had learned to endure and to finally love.

"If that was another stab at my age, I'm afraid it wasn't appreciated," Vlad retorted. Getting to his feet, the man said, "Come on. It's about time we go to bed. I'm exhausted, and I know you are as well. Also, you'll tell the others the reasons behind my actions at breakfast, won't you? That's considering they even have the energy tomorrow to get up."

Standing up as well, but careful to keep his distance from Vlad, Danny said with a grin, "Yeah, I'll tell them first thing." He rubbed the back of his neck, smile diminishing as he murmured, "I really hope they're gonna be okay. Melody looked alright, but Ryder...He got shocked three times. He didn't look good at all."

Shaking his head, the boy added as if to console himself, "They'll be fine, though. I mean, after a while, at least. I can help them around until you can...wait."

Danny stopped walking just before they went back into the cabin. Looking up at Vlad, he quickly asked, "How'd the Collector word that order he gave you? Did he say that we all couldn't touch you or was it more vague than that?" He paused, shook his head again and mumbled, "Right, you can't talk about it. Okay, right, blink twice for vagueness and once for specific."

Vlad blinked only once, but it didn't matter because an idea had already been sparked in Vlad's head and was soon set aflame the more he kindled it. "But he didn't say anything about...," he thought aloud, only to have the sentence cut off because of the Collector's command. Looking back down at Danny, Vlad said experimentally, "May you turn ghost for me?"

Grinning because he was on the same exact wavelength as Vlad, Danny said, "Way ahead of you, V-Man." In an instant, he'd morphed into his ghost form, his smile only widening as he did. Lately, he'd been dreading being in ghost mode because he was only using it to avoid the pain of his human body, but now it was going to solve a problem. And, also, make the Collector look like an idiot.

After hesitating for only a moment, Danny reached out and touched Vlad's arm before the man could protest or stop him from doing so.

"Hey! Don't-!" Vlad yelped in surprise and fear, but the objection died in the man's throat as it was obvious Danny wasn't getting electrocuted and he felt no sublime wish to use his power on the teen.

Grinning smugly, Vlad muttered with a disbelieving shake of his head, "That ghost is an utter idiot."

That said, Vlad pulled Danny into a tight and very well needed hug.

Danny was a bit surprised at how quickly Vlad had just hugged him, but he didn't mind it in the least as he hugged the man back. Honestly, Vlad's hugs were just as good, if not better, than any hug his parents were able to give him. His dad always crushed his ribcage and practically broke his arms while his mom always kissed him and then her lipstick got stuck on his cheek. Though he definitely missed them, he did not miss their hugs.

"Good thing I'm a genius," Danny mumbled, letting out a small laugh as he pressed the side of his face against Vlad's chest. "Or we never would've figured out just how stupid the Collector really is."

As he rested his cheek on the top of Danny's head, Vlad chuckled half teasingly, "I'm very grateful for your brilliant intellect. Honestly, though, the Curator is a moron. I can not believe he only ordered me to hurt humans and not ghosts. What villain doesn't cover his tracks like that? I hope I gave you more of an intellectual challenge when we fought each other."

Giving an evil grin that Vlad couldn't see, Danny asked in a painfully innocent tone, "If I say that you did, will that make you feel any better?"

"It would, quite honestly," Vlad laughed down at the teen. "I could not have been as much of an imbecile as the Curator is." Pulling away from Danny so he could look him in the face but with his hands still on the teen's shoulders, Vlad said with a wry grin, "This is an issue of utmost pride, you must understand."

Danny smirked back up at Vlad. He truly did want to make the man feel better, but the opportunity to mess with him was just too tempting.

"Well, if you put it like that..." the boy said slowly. He suddenly shook his head as he dramatically stated, "Oh, yes, you were _way_ too smart for me. I didn't have a clue what you were planning ever. I was a very stupid superhero in comparison to you."

Vlad sighed to stop a chuckle that wanted to come out, rolling his eyes at Danny's response. Capturing Danny's chin with his hand, Vlad told the teen with a smirk, "You, my boy, grab every chance you find to pester me."

"Of course I do," Danny answered with a grin, boldly meeting Vlad's gaze with his own amused one. "I'm a teenager, remember?" He paused before adding as a side note, "And you're just fun to annoy. Can't forget that."

"Oh, I won't easily forget it," Vlad said with a chuckle, returning his hand to the teen's shoulder. Raising an eyebrow, Vlad asked with a hint of curiosity, "Now why am I so entertaining to vex?"

"Because you deserve it so much," Danny told the man, his smile widening as he did. "Maybe if you didn't try to one-up me every time, I'd stop...well, maybe not, but you get the idea."

"Oh, I get it, alright," Vlad said as he stood up and put his hands on his hips. "And my only conclusion is that no matter my response, your persistence in your mission to antagonize and exasperate me will unfortunately always remain the same. In other words: I'm doomed."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Danny sent Vlad a brilliant grin as he said, "Congratulations, Vlad. You finally figured out my evil plan. Only took you, like, three months." Tilting his head to the side, the teen asked innocently, "Didn't you say you were smart or something?"

Vlad produced an overdramatic sigh, shaking his head as if in deep pity of the boy. "It's a shame teenagers don't come with off buttons," he said. "Whoever invents that technology will be making the world a better place. Until then, all we have is hope."

"Yeah?" Danny said with a challenging grin. "Maybe they should just make a 'humor setting' for old people. That'd solve some problems, 'cause I don't think it's teenagers that have an issue." Pointing up at Vlad, the teen stated, "You're just mad my evil plan is so awesome and that there's nothing you can do to stop it. Admit it."

Putting his hand up to touch his chin as if in thought, Vlad's eyebrows lowered in perplexity and concern. "There must be a factory or something," he murmured. When all he got as a response was a confused tilt of Danny's head, Vlad said with a devious smile, "Well, there has to be some place that manufactures all the ludicrous ideas that spring from your head. They aren't natural, by all means."

"Are you saying there's something wrong with me?" Danny demanded, narrowing his eyes back at Vlad. Even though he wanted to smirk, he managed to keep his expression in a glare so that Vlad would know just how 'serious' he was being.

"Of course not," Vlad said with a wave of his hand. "The factory that creates your ideas has an opulent imagination. You should know this by now. Although," he added with a hint of concern, "I believe it might be overworked."

Rolling his eyes, Danny muttered, "Yeah, I can see how _I'm_ the one who likes to pester." Turning away from Vlad as if he was completely fed-up with the man's teasing, he began to walk back towards the cabin, grumbling over his shoulder, "Old people."

Chuckling at a job well done, Vlad watched Danny for for a moment before easily striding up next to him on their way back to the cabin. Ruffling Danny's hair, Vlad said teasingly, "Oh, quit pouting. It's just a little bit of your own medicine."

Instinctively bringing his hands up to uselessly try and smooth out his spiky hair, Danny scowled up at Vlad, saying challengingly, "Yeah? Well, we'll see who gets the last laugh in the end. Just a little hint: it's gonna be me."

"I have no doubt about that," Vlad said sarcastically. As they neared the cabin, he wrapped his arm around Danny's shoulders and brought him close, saying more seriously and with a warm smile, "Hey, thank you for staying up with me and talking."

"Well, I couldn't just let you mope around by yourself, now could I?" Danny said, rolling his eyes again at the thought. Vlad did that a lot more than he probably thought he did. It was extremely easy to tell because of the expression he got and the way he barely ever said anything.

However, after looking up at Vlad's face, the teen dropped his joking his tone. "You're welcome, though," he said with a sincere smile.

As a response, Vlad squeezed Danny's shoulder before opening the door to the cabin for him. To prevent waking up Ryder just incase his injuries made him a lighter sleeper, the two remained silent as they got ready for bed. It wasn't until they were on their respective mattresses that Vlad whispered up to the teen just loud enough to be heard over Ryder's snoring, "Goodnight, Danny."

Yawning widely as the pain in his head and his tiredness finally caught up with him, Danny pulled his blanket tight around him and mumbled back, "Night, Vlad." He paused for a moment, closing his eyes as he smiled dozily and added, "Have fruitloopy dreams."

A/N: Alrighty. This is it. That was the last chapter before our finale chapters. You readers are geared up for an ending, and we know it. So many of you are so ready for Collector to get what he deserves and for our little band of dysfunctional heroes to escape. Next week's post is the beginning of the end. See you guys then!


	31. Chapter 31 Rearranged Plan A

A/N: I am SO sorry, guys, about being an entire week late on this chapter. I feel so bad. I left all of you hanging. My life just got super busy all of the sudden with work and home projects and stuff just piled up. Thankfully, though, this is a pretty large chapter for you guys to enjoy. I hope that makes up for a little bit of being late. Anyways, I'm excited for guys to read it! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own anything from Danny Phantom. Everything else is ours!

Previously In The Collector: The Collector gave orders for Vlad to shock any human who touched him but not tell anyone about it, momentarily tearing the little team apart. Eventually, though, Danny was able to figure the spell out and then found a loophole. The Collector had never specified with ghosts not being able to touch Vlad, meaning the ghost boy was free to hug the man, ending the day on an encouraging note.

Chapter 31 Rearranged Plan A

Two weeks had passed since the Collector's last punishment. Melody and Ryder had recovered nicely from their injuries, Danny following quickly in their footsteps. Since the Collector hadn't bothered them in so long, they'd each had plenty of time to train and prepare for their own personal jobs during the escape.

Currently, Danny was trailing through the main room, his eyes focused on the silver compass in his hands. The three adults were back in the picnic area, watching as Vlad put on the finishing touches of the orb that would be used as the centerpiece of their escape plan.

Danny's eyebrows drew together as he continued to follow in the direction the compass was pointing. He'd begun to notice, as he tinkered with the artifact over the past few days, that the arrow only moved in certain directions at certain times. Sometimes, it didn't even move at all while other times it went crazy.

The teen glanced up as the arrow suddenly stopped moving as it pointed steadfastly straight ahead of him. He raised an eyebrow when he realized that the compass had led him up to the water ghost, Roy. He held a swirling ball of water in his palms and was tossing it back and forth and up and down with an amused grin on his face. When he noticed Danny watching him, he raised a hand in greeting only to grimace when he lost focus on his water ball, causing it to splash to the floor.

The instant the water became a puddle on the floor, the arrow of the compass turned off to the right. Quickly following where the arrow was guiding him, Danny's eyes landed on yet another ghost that was using its power to levitate a basketball up from the ground and through the hoop on the other side of the court.

Once again, the second the ghost let the ball hit the ground and roll away, the compass changed direction. This time, Danny had to jog in the direction it was guiding him, and he rounded the cabin only to come to a screeching halt when he discovered that the compass was pointing him at Vlad.

Just like he'd left the man, he was sitting at the picnic table, focusing in on the device that he was building. Each time Vlad used his electrical ability to weld a piece of metal together, the compass pointed directly at him. But whenever he stopped, it drifted away.

Eyes widening in realization, Danny whispered quickly, "_Hole-y_ crap. It points to ghosts when they use their power...holy crap!" With an excited grin, the boy turned on his heel and headed back into ghost territory. Now that he knew what the compass did, it wouldn't take him long to find out who the ghost they were looking for was.

Meanwhile, back at the tables, Vlad found himself interrupted by a soft cough behind him. Raising his eyes and turning in his seat, the half-ghost found Ryder standing behind him, holding a rolled-up piece of paper in his hands. Grinning, the thief declared, "I got the map!"

Before Vlad could say anything, Ryder unfurled the large piece of paper across the table-top, displaying the drawing he'd been studiously working the past week on. The first thing Vlad noticed was...how extremely detailed and well-drawn the picture was. Everything in the museum had been labeled, down to the smallest thing like doorknobs and floor moldings. Ryder had even put a scale off to the side with precise measurements of everything they would need to know that was needed for their escape.

Looking extremely proud of himself, Ryder put his hands on his hips and said, "So what do ya think?"

Staring at he map in almost disbelief, it took Vlad a few seconds to form words to describe what he felt and thought. "It's...it's impressive," Vlad finally said, a brilliant grin coming to his face.

"Damn, Ryder," Melody grumbled as she leaned over the table to inspect the map more closely. "Since when did you become an artist?"

"Um...since ever?" the thief guessed. He waved his hand quickly, brushing away the notion as his excitement returned. He'd always liked to draw, and he especially liked showing people his drawings. Leaning over the far side of the table, Ryder pointed down at what was clearly the main room drawn out on the piece of paper.

"See, that's us," Ryder said, tapping his finger against the four perfectly drawn figures. "It says: 'You are here' so that means it's the main room, see?" His smile widened as he explained while pointing to the overly muscled man wearing a military outfit with spiked boots and warpaint across his face. "That's me. I got a jetpack with a machine gun attached to it!"

Pointing to the figure beside himself, Ryder said, "And that's Vlad. See? And over here's Danny." It only took one glance for Melody and Vlad to realize that Ryder had drawn Danny dressed in a Robin outfit while fitting Vlad in his very own Batman attire.

Grinning, the thief gestured lastly at the picture of Melody. "And that's Mel." The girl looked exactly the same as she did in real life...except for the fact that her butt had been expanded quite noticeably. And, if that wasn't obvious enough, Ryder had written the words, "_BADUNKADUNK_" in bold letters, underlined it several times, and drawn arrows pointing to her very large bottom.

"Mmm. I can see you took the time to make it...realistic," Vlad said, trying to remain composed as he continued to smile down at the map and waited for the very loud and explosive inevitable.

"What. The. _Hell_? Okay, that's it!" Melody suddenly seethed, right on cue. Quicker than Vlad or Ryder thought possible, the girl sprang out of her seat and flung herself around the table to attack Ryder. "I'm kicking your sorry ass once and for all!" she declared as she came at him.

Looking a little shocked (but mostly amused) Ryder turned to face Melody. Before she could grab him and torture him like she probably wanted to, the man planted a foot on the bench of the table and leapt nimbly across the top of it, landing neatly on the other side out of the girl's reach.

Grinning again, Ryder inspected his fingernails as he told Melody calmly, "Your butt is so big, I could kick it from all the way over here."

"Shut up! Shut up and stop moving to I can kick your ass!" Melody shouted back as she stopped on a dime and went back the way she came, only to have Ryder skirt around the table in the opposite way to avoid her. They circled the table a few times, spewing insults and threats at each other in the height of their regular quarrel.

Sighing in slight annoyance as he tried to return to his work on the orb, Vlad said without much hope that he was being heard, "Can you two remain civil for simply a few more minutes as I finish this?"

"Not until I catch him and beat him up!" Melody shot back at Vlad, not even looking at him as she ran one way around the table, stopped abruptly, and tried going the other to throw Ryder off. Despite her best efforts, though, she had no luck.

Ryder looked to be enjoying himself as he continued to nimbly dodge Melody's attempts to get him. He'd told the girl on numerous occasions how many times people had tried to kill him. He thought she would've learned by now that he was hard to catch.

"Vlad likes my drawing, don't you, Vlad?" the thief questioned the half-ghost as he dodged quickly around him to avoid Melody. Without giving Vlad time to respond, Ryder said, "Yeah, he loves it! Stop being so sensitive, Melody! A lot of people like big butts. There's even a song about it!"

The thieves' antics soon started to annoy Vlad. Because he didn't have any welding tools in the museum, he had to do all the soldering and joining of the metal materials the hard way by hand with his electric abilities. This process took a lot of careful concentration, and two adults acting like children as they ran around the table he was working at, hollering like banshees at each other the entire time, wasn't helping in the department of focusing.

Finally having enough, Vlad's glaring eyes watched the thieves round the table one more time as he calculated a way to conclude their maddening merry-go-round actions. Moving his foot a fraction at just the precise moment, Vlad watched without much pity as he tripped Ryder and sent him into a stumble.

Although the spill didn't take Ryder to the ground, the girl all too ready to pounce on him surely did. With a wild whoop of victory, Melody jump tacked Ryder, successfully taking him to the ground.

"Gah!" Ryder yelled in surprise and astonishment when Melody, little Melody, took him down. He hit the floor flat on his stomach with a surprising amount of force and, before he could shove himself back up, the girl landed on top of him. He hadn't thought it was possible that someone so small could pack such a big punch.

Letting out another gasping breath, Ryder yelped, "Your big butt is crushing me!"

"You know what your problem is?" Melody said, a little bit out of breath as she seized Ryder's ear with a triumphant smile still splaying across her face. She dragged him up off the ground, holding him steady as if the man was her new pooch to train. "You wouldn't know when to shut up even to save your life, that's what, you big retard."

"Ow, ow-ow-ow-ow," Ryder protested, bending down to Melody's height to try and take the pressure off his poor ear. It was safe to say he hadn't seen this coming when he'd been taunting Melody. Though he wasn't sure if he would've been able to stop himself anyway, he might've tried to reconsider before she captured him in an ear hold. One of the most nefarious of holds ever.

"Not fair, not fair," the thief whined helplessly.

"As a matter of fact, this _is_ fair after all the lies and crap you've been saying about my beautiful ass," Melody said with a sure nod of her head. Shaking Ryder around slightly by his tender ear, she told him like a mother reprimanding a child, "Maybe this will teach you a lesson about talking about my butt. Hm?"

Prying an eye open, Ryder glanced up at Melody before looking over to Vlad. He wasn't ready to admit defeat just yet. And, even though the halfa had totally been the one to trip him, there was no way he could just sit there and let him be tortured! The Bro-Code had to outlaw that or something!

"Vlad!" the thief squeaked, waving his hands desperately to get the man's attention. "Are you- ah, ouch, ouch! Are you just gonna let her do this? This is - oh, ow-ow-ow - cruel and unusual!"

Without looking up from the orb he was leaning over with intense focus, Vlad said absentmindedly as he lowered a pair of goggles over his eyes and used his finger to create an arching spark, "If it stops you two from running around this table like a herd of mindless chickens, then I honestly don't care what she does to you." He made a small weld on the orb's metal plates, pushed the goggles back up to his forehead, and blew away some of the residing smoke before adding, "To be frank, you should have seen this one coming."

Ryder remained silent for a moment as he took in what Vlad had said. The man really was just going to sit there and let him die. Pained expression morphing into a scowl, Ryder growled, "_Traitor_. See if I ever - oh, big ow - draw you as Batman ever again!"

"Actually," Vlad said as he looked up to pause for thought, a wistful smirk coming to his lips, "that might be a blessing."

Glaring over at Vlad, Ryder vowed in a mutter, "We're not friends anymore. Never again. It's totally ah- over!" The thief brought his eyes up to Melody again as he gave her the most pathetic look he could muster. He didn't say anything, just gave her that sad, hapless expression in hopes that her icy heart would suddenly be melted under his stare.

It was a long shot, but Vlad obviously wasn't going to help him. It was the only option he had left.

Melody held Ryder's gaze for a few seconds before relenting a little as her smirk of conquest diminished slightly. There was just something too hapless and heartbreaking to Ryder's stare that made it nearly impossible for her to be mad at him for too long. The same thing happened when it came down to gloating. Too much of it would only ruin the fun.

"Tell me you've learned your lesson, and I'll let you go," Melody said with a sweetly dangerous smile.

"Oh, I definitely learned!" Ryder blurted instantly, though he really didn't have a clue what the lesson here was. All he could see was that he shouldn't trust running by Vlad when he was trying to avoid getting captured by Melody because he'd trip him!

Nonetheless, the thief quickly added, "Totally lesson learned. Totally, totally."

"He hasn't learned a thing, by the way," Vlad said without much care, keeping his main concentration on his contraption.

"Wait. What?" Melody asked.

Still not looking up from his work or answering right away because of his priorities, Vlad made another weld. Pushing his tinted goggles back up onto his forehead, he told her as he examined the orb once more, "Whatever he's telling you is rubbish. He probably doesn't even know why you are hurting him right now."

"Don't tell me you weren't paying attention, Ryder," Melody grumbled as she turned her narrowed eyes back on the thief.

Ryder didn't even look back at Melody as he stared at Vlad in utter disbelief. Not only had he tripped him _and_ refused to help him, but now he was just trying to get him in trouble! _This has to be a violation of some sort of Bro-Code somewhere_! the thief internally screamed at himself as he glared daggers at Vlad.

Unwillingly dragging his eyes back to the girl currently killing his ear, Ryder swallowed and mumbled feebly, "I was too..."

"Uh-huh," Melody said sarcastically, putting her free hand on her hip as she paused for thought. She glanced over at an unsuspecting Vlad and smiled wickedly to herself.

Shaking a finger in Ryder's face, she told him, "No more butt jokes. I mean it, Ryder." Patting him on the head with a giggle, she said while releasing him, "Now go frolic and be free...especially in Vlad's direction. He looks like he needs some conversation."

Standing back up straight as he vigorously rubbed his sore ear, Ryder glared at Vlad again and grumbled, "Oh, I'll give him some conversa- hey, Danny!"

Almost instantly, the thief's anger and frustration towards his fellow man had disappeared as he spotted Danny quickly approaching their group with a big grin on his face. Waving at the teen, Ryder pointed over to his map and said, "You wanna see my map? It's awesome!"

Danny shot Ryder a curious glance before letting his eyes drift vaguely over to the map. "Yeah, I'll look in a second, Ryder," the teen promised. He then focused his attention on Vlad, his smile returning. He probably wouldn't admit how good it felt to make Vlad proud of him, but he was definitely going to look forward to this.

Striding forward, Danny held his hand out in front of Vlad's face as he displayed the silver compass to him. "I figured it out, Vlad," Danny said, "I know what it does."

Vlad paused and frowned from the startle of something being thrust into his line of sight after so much attention on the orb. His concentration was so strong, he hadn't even noticed when Danny had randomly joined them. After the moment it took for Vlad to shift his focus, Vlad smiled and straightened up with a spark of excitement at Danny's news.

Clearing his throat as he returned his goggles to his forehead, Vlad looked up at the teen, asking, "Have you now? Well, what's its purpose, then?"

Grinning, Danny explained, "It points to powers." He held the compass out for Vlad to take as he continued, "The arrow only points to ghosts when they're using their powers. Watch." The teen's eyes flashed blue momentarily as he created a ball of ice in his palm.

As he had said, the arrow of the compass instantly spun around and pointed directly at him. When he stopped using his ice abilities, the arrow slowly drifted in another direction as if it had suddenly lost interest in Danny altogether.

Meeting Vlad's gaze, the boy said, "It only points to the closet power using ghost. But there's a slight exception to that." His smile widened. "One ghost is always using his power in here, and I found him."

The skeptical side of Vlad didn't want to believe what Danny was saying. Looking back down at the compass in his hand, Vlad snapped his fingers a few times to make some small sparks. He watched keenly as the arrow would suddenly swing in his hand's direction with each snap. The experiment an obvious success, Vlad looked back up at Danny with an astonished grin.

"Shit," Melody whispered, giving a quiet, nervous laugh. "Does this mean Danny found the ghost we've been looking for?"

"I think...I think it does," Vlad said calmly, still too blown away by their luck to fully react.

"I would just like to point out," Ryder began, giving an amazed grin as his eyes stayed locked on the compass, "this was only possible because of me. So you're all welcome."

Danny looked over at Ryder, his smile not diminishing in the least. "Well, 90% of this discovery is because of me so you all can just bask in my glory later," the teen replied, chuckling softly before he looked back at Vlad. "Is the thing ready to go? I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to take this guy down."

"I second that notion," Melody said, slightly raising her hand as if they were voting on the subject. "I mean, why wait?"

"Well, I'm nearly finished with the orb," Vlad said as he looked down at his makeshift invention. It wasn't his best or most presentable piece of work with all its bent, twisted metal and loose wires sticking up in some areas. Vlad still didn't know for sure if it was going to work the way he wanted it to, but there was no subtle way to test the object without drawing the attention of the Collector. When he created the object, Vlad knew when it ultimately got used that it would be a fail or pass situation.

"Give me ten more minutes, and it should be ready to go," Vlad told the group.

"That means everyone shut up and give him his nerd space," Melody said with an excited, evil grin.

As one, Melody, Danny, and Ryder stepped back from Vlad, staying quiet as they watched him work. Danny couldn't help but bounce in place slightly, mentally pumping himself up for what needed to be done. He'd been training with Vlad every day for the past two weeks, and he felt extremely confident in his abilities. He also trusted that their plan was going to work as long as they all did what needed to be done.

"We can do this," Danny said, glancing at the thieves as he grinned. "We're gonna get out of here, guys. I just know it."

Ryder matched the boy's smile as he nodded firmly. "I'm gonna go get the fire stuff and that coin!" he declared before dashing away towards the cabin to retrieve the items.

Shaking his head, Danny muttered, "I think he's a little too excited about that." He looked up at Melody as he said, "This is gonna work, Melody. We're gonna be home soon, I can feel it."

"Hey, don't jinx this, little man," Melody said as she strode off to her own cabin. "I'm going to get that icky dreamcatcher thingy as well. Seriously, that thing is butt ugly."

Danny watched her go with another smile and shake of his head. He knew that he had every right to be excited, but Melody had a point. Knowing his track record, it was best not to push his luck. So, in an effort to be good and quiet, the teen walked over to the table Vlad was working at and sat down on the other side of him to inspect Ryder's drawing.

Leaning forward, Danny's eyes widened in amazement. "Wow," the boy breathed as he quickly examined the entire lay-out of the museum. Except for a few places like the basement, everything had been perfectly sketched out. "Who knew Ryder was such an...what is that?"

Danny broke off as his eyes finally landed on the group's self-portraits. Eyebrows immediately dropping in a frown, the teen grumbled, "That's me in a Robin suit. Not cool." Danny rolled his eyes before glancing over at Vlad as his smile quickly returned.

"Stupid costumes aside," Danny told the man as he waved a hand at the picture, "I think we'd make a pretty awesome Dynamic Duo."

Vlad didn't answer right away because he was so focused on his project. Somewhere in the back of Vlad's head, though, he was listening to Danny and answering. Then, as if reality was finally catching up with him, the man lifted his goggles, waved some smoke away with a hand, and looked up at Danny with an excited smirk.

"We'll see soon enough," Vlad answered as he removed his goggles and tossed them onto the table. He lifted his finished product up with one hand so both him and Danny could look at it properly, his eyes flashing a little with pride for himself for a job well done. "This is best it is going to get," he said as he turned the orb in his palm. "Now to see if it works."

Though the orb didn't look the greatest, Danny was positive that it would work. He trusted Vlad, and he trusted that the man's scientific abilities would be good enough to get them out of here. Giving a solemn nod, Danny said, "It will."

He looked down at the map again as he rolled it up, muttering, "Better give this to Melody. She's probably gonna need it the mos-"

"Got the stuff!" Ryder announced, cutting Danny off as he came to a stop beside the table, grinning widely. "We ready to go? 'Cause I'm ready to go!"

"Where is Melody?" Vlad asked.

"Right here," Melody answered from Vlad's other side.

Glancing over to her, Vlad nodded before standing up with orb in hand. His eyes roamed over the small group before him. For a brief moment, Vlad reflected on how disconnected they all were at the start. He never dreamed they would make it this far and change so much in only a few hard, horrible months, but there they all were: healthy, determined, and more than just eager for freedom. Vlad couldn't be more proud.

"We're ready, then," Vlad said with a grin. Nodding towards Danny, he told the teen, "Lead the way."

"Yes, sir," Danny instantly agreed as he jumped to his feet. He strode forward, heading back in the direction he'd just come from. He was pretty confident the ghost hadn't moved since he'd left him.

The teen's eyes stayed focused straight ahead as he led the group deeper and deeper into ghost territory. A few of the entities they passed raised hands in greeting, nodded, or simply ignored them altogether. They even breezed right by Faze as the ghost was giving another one of his famous magical acts.

Danny finally brought the group to a halt when they had reached the very end of the room, and the very center of the ghost's side. He raised a hand and pointed out the ghost that would be their ticket to taking the entire museum down once and for all.

"That's him," Danny said quietly.

The culprit was a young ghost in appearance but very old in years of death. He was olive skinned and dark eyed. His dark brown hair was mostly shaved off his entire head but with the exception of a short pony tail at the top of his head. He wore nothing but a simple linen cloth wrapped around his waste in a very ancient Egyptian style.

The scrawny ghost boy couldn't be more than 9 years old as he sat cross-legged on the ground before the group of humans, intently playing a fun game of pick-up-sticks with another ghost. With his pink tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, the ghost made a daring move with his sticks which evidently gave him an upper hand as the group of ghosts around the two opponents cheered.

"Did you see that?" the Egyptian ghost called out in surprise and excitement after making his risky move. The ghosts watching the game either laughed or grinned while patting the losing opponent on the shoulder. Laughing at his luck, the boy said, "Oh, I can't believe that worked!"

In mid laugh, the boy noticed the group of humans that had come to crash the party. He sat up straight, a welcoming smile bouncing to his features. "Hello," he greeted the four with a wave. Noticing Ryder, his dark eyes lit up with recognition. "How are you, Ryder?" he asked the thief. "Do you want to play me after I'm done with Barnabas, here?"

Ryder's shoulders hunched up a little as he glanced at the others from the corner of his eyes when he felt their stares. "I talked to him when we were talking to all the ghosts," he quietly explained, cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment. Obviously, the ghost had tricked him when they'd spoken last if Danny was saying he was the ghost they were looking for.

Bringing his eyes back to the boy, Ryder said, "No thanks. We kinda need to ask you some questions, Tolmy...Wait... Ptolmies...I mean..." Trailing off, the thief rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to mentally pronounce the ghost's name right. After a moment, he finally said, "Ptolemy. Yeah, questions."

Ptolemy's head tilted in confusion. "Questions?" he asked innocently. Nodding after some thought and a shrug, he said, smile swiftly returning, "Okay. You can ask them after I finish this game, alright?"

"No," Vlad said, taking a step forward to distinguish his authority. "We would like to ask the questions now, if you please."

The boy shot Vlad an odd, suspecting look which only lasted for a split of a second before it vanished and was replaced with harmless curiosity. Despite the swiftness, Vlad still caught the expression. He could sense that there was a lot to this ghost than what first appeared, which only made Vlad wary. He wasn't quite sure what he was dealing with.

"As you wish," Ptolemy said with some uncertainty, gracefully getting to his feet. He exchanged a few words with the surrounding ghosts and rescheduled a rematch against Barnabas before turning back toward the humans. As he group of ghosts dispersed somewhat, Ptolemy clasped his hands behind his back, gave the group a cute smile, and said, "Ask away."

Like Vlad, Danny sensed that there was a lot more to this ghost than what the kid was showing them. He just seemed to have an underlying hint of nefariousness that Danny had become very good at sensing. Even though he knew that this ghost was powerful, Danny wasn't intimidated.

He clenched his hands into fists, just itching to turn ghost. Adrenaline was ready to begin pumping through his veins as he leveled his stare on Ptolemy. All that stood between them and freedom was taking this ghost down.

Danny took a quiet breath before he reigned in his aggression and said softly, "We know you're giving the Collector power. We wanna know how, and we want you to stop."

Silence remained between the group of humans and Ptolemy as the ghost froze, seeming to scrutinize Danny and his firm accusation. Calculations were quickly made. Then, with a giant grin blooming across the boy's face, Ptolemy gave a short laugh and asked, "Is this a joke?"

"No," Vlad answered tersely.

"Then I'm afraid you guys have the wrong ghost," Ptolemy said with a sympathetic shrug. He was trying hard to keep down his giggles. "I'm sorry. I don't give power to anyone."

"We have proof that you do," Vlad stated, putting his hands on his hips.

Mimicking Vlad's posture, Ptolemy flashed the group a playful smile, asking curiously, "Where? I wanna see this."

Without any hesitation, Vlad gestured for Danny to show the ghost the compass.

Danny nodded as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the compass. He held it flat in his palm as he stretched his arm out a little, displaying the device for the ghost to see. "The needle's pointing right at you," Danny explained, narrowing his eyes on Ptolemy.

"That means you're using a power," Ryder supplied with a frown. "Even though you told me you didn't do that."

"Are you sure?" Ptolemy asked, sounding skeptical as he continued to stare at the compass Danny displayed for him. "It could just mean it's broken."

"Here, I'll show you," Vlad said. Leaning down, he once again snapped his fingers and produced some sparks. With each snap, the needle whirled in his hand's direction before ultimately turning back to Ptolemy. The boy's thin eyebrows rose in surprise and deep fascination as he watched, his childish smile turning into a sardonic smirk that was way beyond the kid's years.

"Hmm. I have to admit. That's interesting," Ptolemy said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Very," Danny agreed, shoving the compass back into his pocket as he glared at Ptolemy. He didn't like his tone. It was eerily familiar to how Vlad had used to speak to him, and he didn't like being reminded of the past one bit.

"We know you're using your power, and you're going to stop," Danny told the ghost, fingers itching to produce his green ectoplasm at any moment. He wouldn't mind going about this civilly, but he had a pretty good feeling that wasn't going to happen. In the end, Danny was ready for a fight.

Eyebrows dropping in concern, Ptolemy took a cautious step backwards while putting his palms up to come off as non-threatening. "Look," he said more seriously, "I believe you guys about the compass. Really, I do, but I think it might be a fluke. I'm not doing anything. I'm telling you that you got the wrong-."

"Oh, cut the bullshit," Melody suddenly sighed, putting a hand on her hip in a fed-up fashion. "You look pretty convincing and stuff, but we've been working on this for a long time now, which you probably already know. You're not innocent. We all know it. So stop it with the cutesy, naive act. It's getting pretty annoying."

"Agreed," Vlad said, remaining stoic although he was still uneasy about how matters were about to go down. Either things were going to be quick and easy, or very soon their luck was going to be sucked dry while tables turned. He was prepared for whichever way.

Leaning down so that his face was inches away from Ptolemy's, Vlad said quietly with a vicious smile, "Let's all be frank, shall we?"

The two glared at each other for a few tense seconds before Ptolemy let out a chuckle, shaking his head as if in pity of the humans. As Vlad leaned back to his normal height with a scowl, Ptolemy returned his hands to behind his back and gave the group a sarcastic, knowing smile that changed the ghost's appearance from a sweet, fun-loving boy into a dark, crafty apparition that harbored way too many secretes.

"Oh, now that we're being_ frank_," Ptolemy said with a curl of his lip, "I'll admit that I never liked any of you humans. You do know that you've ruined everything, right?"

Even though Danny would never admit it, a chill swept down his spine at seeing Ptolemy's transformation. It was as if a switch had been flicked, changing him from an innocent kid to a devious villain. In an effort to hide his rising anxiety, Danny glared right back at the ghost and growled, "What did _we_ do? We don't even want to be here!"

"Exactly!" Ptolemy said with a laugh, spreading his arms out as if it was so clear. Rolling his eyes at the looks of confusion on the group's faces, the ghost explained in a casual tone, "I told the Curator that if he was going to use my power that he would have to use it wisely. It worked for a few centuries. I got to stay here rent free, and he used his power combined with my own to persuade more ghosts to come to his museum. It was a mutual deal. Things were going great, might I add.

"Then what does he do?" Ptolemy went on, his tone becoming a little harsher. "He goes and gets himself four humans who don't even want to be in his museum! It's plain stupid. I told him it would never work out. And, from what you can see, I was right the entire time. For centuries this place has been a hub for ghosts with talent but without a home. I liked it here. All of us ghosts liked it. Since his _brilliant_ move, though, this place has turned into a showcase for the bizarre humanoid. We both know it's just sad."

Putting his hands on his hips, the boy looked out around the room with a touch of nostalgia pinching his features. With a lamenting sigh, Ptolemy said without looking at anyone, "This museum used to be our home."

Sharing glances with the rest of the group, Danny eventually brought his eyes back to Ptolemy, frowning deeply. From what he was hearing, he'd been right all along. The Collector had only brought them to the museum because of this ghost's power. And it was because of his power that the Collector continued to grow stronger and more able to keep them here. So that only left one question.

"Then why don't you just stop giving him power?" Danny asked Ptolemy, his eyebrows furrowed. "If he can't control us, then we'll leave. You won't ever have to see us again and then things can go back to normal here."

Ptolemy's gaze returned to Danny as he uttered a bitter laugh. "Are you serious?" he asked skeptically. When he didn't get a response from anyone, the ghost grinned maliciously. "Oh, you _are_ serious. Ha ha! Oh dear. This is pathetic."

Leaning closer to Danny so he could address him, Ptolemy said with an unkind sneer, "Well, then let me give it to you _frankl_y, halfa. Even if I could stop giving the Curator power and you guys were all able to leave, it's already too late. Too many things have changed. We're being frank here, so none of you try to deny it. If you left now, do you _really_ think the Curator will give up on any of you? Come on. Let's taste some ice, cold reality."

Danny leaned back a little to get away from Ptolemy as his hands curled into fists at his sides, eyes flaring green softly. He wasn't just mad that the ghost had a point. He was angry at how he'd said it and how blatantly he was trying to insult all of them. Most of all, he was furious that Ptolemy wasn't going to help them willingly. He knew deep in his gut that the ghost would rather let them stay in the museum and rot before he lifted a finger to help them.

Just barely managing to reign in his fury, Danny muttered, "You're right. He probably wouldn't." The teen let a mean smile come to his face, his eyes still glowing green as he added, "But you _are_ gonna stop giving him power. One way or another. We're not staying here forever."

"Oh, this is cute," Ptolemy chuckled, not intimidated in the least bit by Danny's threat. "Truly adorable. You really think you'll be able to saunter over here and attack me without any repercussions, as if the Curator hasn't changed and hasn't become paranoid at all."

"There's an order from the Curator we don't know about, isn't there?" Vlad said gravely.

Pointing to Vlad as if he had just won a prize for correctly answering a trivia question, Ptolemy said with false excitement, "There you go, halfa! Now you're using your head!"

Putting a hand on Danny's shoulder to steady him when he tensed up, Ryder raised his stare to Ptolemy. "What is it?" he asked warily, eyes sliding around his surroundings. He didn't like that the ghosts around them were all watching their disagreement intensely.

The thief couldn't help but swallow worriedly when his gaze landed on the multiplying ghost, Gregory, standing behind Ptolemy. It only took one look into the ghost's dark eyes to know that Greg was ready and willing to hurt him at any moment. It didn't help that the ghost's stare was locked solely on him. When their eyes connected, it all came together for Ryder.

Glancing back down at Ptolemy, Ryder said quietly, still shaken up from his conclusion, "The ghosts are going to hurt us if we try to hurt you, right?"

"Oh, not so oblivious now, are you, Ryder?" Ptolemy said with a raised eyebrow. Addressing the rest of the group, the ghost said, "He's right, though. The order is that any ghost must protect me with force if they think I'm being attacked or threatened. As you can see from you being surrounded that the command is already in effect. The moment you so dare as touch me, all these guys are going to open fire on you. They won't be very merciful despite their friendship with any of you. Like I've said, the Curator has gotten paranoid. He's not going to let his one source of power be taken away so easily. If it all comes down to it, he would rather kill all of your than let you take his power."

The group of humans nervously glanced around at all the ghosts slowly gravitating and gathering around them as their conversation with Ptolemy heated up. Despite their dangerous situation, the humans didn't make a move to leave. Instead, they all seemed to prepare themselves for the worst.

"I can see my warning isn't really daunting any of you," Ptolemy said, studying the group with some interest. Then something dawned on him, and his smiling face grew somber. "You guys have had enough, haven't you?" he asked seriously. "None of you are that stupid. You knew something like this would happen. But all of you are finished sitting around and waiting for your next installment of torture. This escape attempt is an all or nothing, isn't it? Huh."

Smile returning after a pause for thought, Ptolemy said knowingly, "It won't work. The Curator has too much power now. The sad truth is this: you will all die before you get out of here. That's it. The end. So you can either choose death today or some time later on. Honestly, I really don't care. It's the same ending either way."

The group remained silent as they each examined their current situation. Danny kept his eyes locked with Ptolemy's, his eyes only managing to glow brighter with his rising anger. He'd made himself a promise when he agreed to Vlad's escape plan. When this day came, he wasn't going to stop fighting until he was free or unable to fight anymore. And if that meant that he was dead, then that's what had to happen.

Danny glanced up at his friends, his family, expression solemn. They'd all come so far together, and this was the moment they'd been fighting towards for months. He knew they were all thinking the same thing as him: it was do or die. There were no other options.

Dropping his furious glare back to Ptolemy, Danny snarled, "We're not dying today. We're getting out of here. And not you or the Collector is gonna be able to stop us. We're going home!"

Danny narrowed his eyes as he morphed into his ghost form and took a fighting stance. Talking time was over. Now it was time to see if Vlad's invention was going to actually work...if they lived long enough to get a chance to use it.

Without waiting for a response from Ptolemy, Vlad sprung forward, transformed, and went straight for the targeted ghost with his orb in hand. The next few seconds were a whirlwind of actions. Hardly an inch away from touching Ptolemy, Vlad watched in dismay as another and much speedier ghost whizzed by him, taking Ptolemy with him in the blink of an eye. Vlad tried to skid to a stop, but the motion was destroyed as the group of protecting ghosts all shot Vlad with ectoplasm rays in retaliation.

Thrown back from the assault, Vlad collided with Ryder, sending both of them to the ground. Looking up, Vlad grimaced as he saw all the ghosts now charging toward them. Before the man could order one from Danny, the ghost kid had a protective shield up, and Vlad winced as the barrage of ghost slammed into it with cries of shock, pain, and/or anger.

Cringing slightly from the strength of all the ghosts attacking his shield at once, Danny glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the group. "Everyone okay?" he asked breathlessly. It was definitely a challenge to keep his shield up, but Danny knew he could do it. Vlad had taught him well.

Sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, Ryder muttered, "Sure," as he warily watched the ghosts outside of Danny's green shield. They did not look happy, and they quickly proved that by suddenly attacking the barrier again as one.

Danny set his face into a grim frown, tightening his hands into fists as he fought to control his shield. "Vlad," the teen said, voice strained, "what do we do? There's...too many to fight at once."

Getting to his feet, Vlad helped Ryder to the same as he answered, "We stick to the plan. If we can't get to the Curator, we burn down the building. Danny, I want you to escort Ryder and Melody to the vent shaft and protect them while Melody hacks into the system. I'll be going after Ptolemy, so most of the ghosts should be distracted by me. Once the main doors are open and Ryder is safe to go, then you can come and help me get Ptolemy. Understood?"

Closing his eyes momentarily to battle against the strength of the ghost's attacking his shield, Danny muttered, "Alright." He pried an eye open and looked over at Vlad, his concern evident even as his expression pinched up from strain. "Are you gonna be okay by yourself?"

"I'll manage," Vlad said as he joined Danny in the center of the domed shield. With a dark grin, he told Danny, "I'm in the mood for a good fight."

"Be careful," Melody suddenly said. She looked worried but ready as she held her fearful form very steadily and handed Vlad and Danny their walkie-talkies.

Vlad was silent for a moment before he nodded and said quietly, "I will. You three do the same."

"We will," Ryder promised as he shoved his walkie-talkie through his belt loop. He gave Vlad a short grin as he said, "You better watch yourself, Batman. We better not have to come back here and save you."

Danny chuckled softly, staring up at Vlad as he added, "He's right. Don't you even think about making me save your old butt. 'Cause I will rub it in your face for years to come." Expression softening, the teen promised, "I'll watch out for them, Vlad. Don't worry."

"I know you'll do fine," Vlad said, placing a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. He'd seen Danny's ghost abilities grow in leaps and bounds over the course of a few weeks. Vlad had the utmost confidence the teen could keep everyone safe. "I won't worry."

Shifting into a firm fighting stance beside Danny, Vlad instructed, "Now, take down your shield on three." Once receiving a nod, Vlad counted, "One. Two. Three." As one, Danny took away his shield and Vlad replaced it with his own. This one, though, didn't stay still for very long. With a smirk on his lips, Vlad looked around at the attacking ghosts before throwing both his arms out and quickly expanding the dome all around. With yelps of surprise and hurt, ghosts were sent flying every which way as they were knocked right off their feet by the wall.

Taking down his shield once it was apparent all the attacking ghosts were down for the second, Vlad looked over at his group and ordered them, "Go now!"

Danny nodded hastily before leaping into the air, shouting, "Move it or lose it, guys!"

Melody and Ryder were quick to react as they dashed through the fallen ghosts, heading back towards the ventilation shaft. Danny flew protectively above them, shooting blasts of ectoplasm at any ghost in their path that even so much as tried to get up after Vlad's attack.

The teen had to grimace when he saw Chuck rising from the ground to unwillingly try and hurt them as well. He knew the kind, old ghost had absolutely no desires to hurt them. And, though he felt horrible about it, Danny had to blast the elderly ghost in the chest to keep him away from Melody and Ryder.

As Charles fell back down, Danny firmly told the two thieves, "Stay focused, guys. We're almost there."

Unfortunately, by this time, many more ghosts were back on their feet and either attacking Vlad or heading for Danny and the others. Heading that second charge was none other than the ghost Gregory. From the way he galloped across the room, it was clear he didn't even need the Collector's orders to motivate him as he set his small, pig-like dark eyes on Ryder. The closer Gregory got, the more curl his lips added to his nasty smile. He'd been waiting very patiently for his revenge.

Melody and Ryder were just slowing down at the wall where the vent shaft was when Gregory caught up with them. The ghost just barely squeezed through Danny's defenses by multiplying himself a half a dozen times. With a triumphant grin, one got by Danny and made to attack an unsuspecting Ryder as he prepared to boost Melody up to the vent opening.

Glancing back before she hopped onto Ryder's shoulders, Melody saw the strike coming. Eyes going wide, the girl quickly jumped off the man and shoved him aside without warning as she threw herself in the other direction. She wasn't fast enough, though, and Gregory's backhanded slap caught her in the shoulder.

With a cry of pain, the girl sailed through the air and came down hard on her side. For a moment, she didn't move as her head swam and pain flourished all throughout her side. Instantly, she knew it wasn't normal pain. Something had to be broken.

Looking up from the floor Melody had shoved him to, Ryder's eyes widened to the size of hubcaps as he yelled, "Mel!" He was horrified that she wasn't moving and even more horrified that Gregory now stood in between him and his friend. And the ghost didn't look like he was planning on moving anytime soon.

The thief briefly glanced around for Danny, but the boy had his work more than cut out for him as he battled against the swarm of ghosts and Gregory's clones. The half-ghost's desperate eyes met Ryder as he plowed a flying roundhouse kick into a duplicate's face, and he shouted, "Get Melody, Ryder! Get her!"

Nodding shakily, Ryder stood up, his eyes locked with Gregory's. He hesitated for only a moment before he charged directly at the ghost and slid beneath his legs to come to a screeching halt by Melody's side.

"Mel, Mel," he whispered rapidly, gently touching the girl's shoulder as he kneeled beside her. "Are you okay? Please say you're okay."

Melody looked up when heard Ryder kneeling over her. She was glad to see that he was alright, but fear and pain prevented her from saying anything right away. All she could think about was how impossible it was going to be for her to crawl through a vent shaft and hack into a computer system with a useless limb. Despair almost overwhelmed her, but she forced the emotion back as she focused on Ryder's voice. Hissing as stabs of agony jolted down her side, she rolled over onto her back, cradling what she was sure was a broken arm against her stomach as she gasped for breath.

"My-my shoulder, Ryder," Melody finally squeaked out through her winces. "It's out of...out of socket. Oh, god! This hurts! You-you're gonna have to...pop it back in."

Ryder swallowed hard, nodding jerkily again as he realized just how injured Melody really was. He knew just how strong Gregory was so it didn't shock him at all to see what one hit from the ghost had done to his best friend. Glancing anxiously over his shoulder, Ryder's stomach dropped when he saw the ghost lumbering towards him, having recovered from trick he'd pulled to get past him.

Looking quickly back to Melody, Ryder hastily whispered, "It'll be okay, Mel. Focus on me. You focusing, Mel?" He didn't wait for the girl to answer as he braced his right hand against her collarbone, placing the other on her dislocated shoulder. "On three, I'm gonna pop it, okay? One-"

_Pop_!

Melody released a shrill scream when Ryder snapped her shoulder back into place. He leaned down to say into her ear as he brushed his hand through her hair and ignored the approaching ghost behind him, "You're fine, Mel. You're fine, you're fine."

"Guh! I am definitely _not_ fine! _Shit_, that hurt!" Melody hissed back as she squeezed her eyes shut to try and block out the pain still radiating down her arm. Doing her best to calm her heavy breathing, the girl opened her eyes when she felt Gregory's pounding footsteps heading towards them. He wore the same, stupid smile, chuckling when he realized there was no escape for the two humans he was going to pummel.

Heart in her throat, Melody tried to put more distance between her and Gregory by pushing herself back with her feet. She grabbed Ryder's shirt by his sleeve with her good hand and told him breathlessly, "Go! Run! He's after you, not me! I'll be fine, so just _go_!"

"No," Ryder adamantly whispered back, his face set into a deep frown. "I won't leave you, Melody. I won't." He squeezed the girl's hand as he promised to stay with her, briefly looking into her eyes before he stood up and spun around to face Gregory. He wasn't going to run from his fear. He wouldn't leave Melody alone with this monster. He was going to fight just like Vlad and Danny were doing for them.

Scowling hatefully up at Gregory as he moved to stand protectively in front of his friend, Ryder growled, "You're gonna pay for hurting Melody."

Stopping on front of Ryder so that he towered threateningly over the man, Gregory gave another low, dark chuckle. "In a few seconds, you will be too dead to care," the ghost said with a grin. He was pretty proud of himself for such a "witty" comeback he'd created.

"No, Ryder! What are you _doing_? Are you _crazy_? Move, dammit!" Melody yelled desperately at her friend as she unsuccessfully tried to sit up. She hated that all she could do in this situation was helplessly sit there and watch as Ryder confronted the gargantuan ghost who was out to kill him.

Doing his best to ignore Melody's pleas, Ryder tilted his head back and met Gregory's eyes as he growled, "That's what you think!" Even as he finished the shout, he moved forward and slammed a punch into the gigantic ghost's stomach. He knew the coin in his pocket did some sort of harm to ghosts, and he thought just touching Gregory would be enough to take him down.

It wasn't.

Ryder's fist crashed into what felt like a brick wall as his arm shuddered to a halt. He cried out in pain and pulled his hand back, cradling his bruised knuckles gingerly as he stared up at Gregory in shock and fear. Why hadn't the coin worked? It was supposed to work!

Out of any other ideas, Ryder reared his head back and spat the biggest loogy he could muster right into Gregory's face in hopes of buying himself some time to think.

With a roar of outrage, Gregory swiped at his now spit-laden face, wildly throwing his hands about in his disgust. "Stupid human!" he yelled as he furiously rubbed Ryder's saliva out of his eyes.

Grinning tensely, Ryder shoved his hand into his pocket and retrieved the ghost protection coin. He looked down at it, quickly trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He rapidly glanced up at Gregory then back down to the coin, eyebrows furrowing as he came to a decision.

Ryder squeezed his hand into a tight fist around the coin, glared up at Gregory and slung yet another punch into the ghost's stomach as he shouted, "That's stupid Ryder Walker to you!"

With a grunt of surprise and pain, Gregory doubled over as the punch traveled through his gut. Wrapping his arms around his now sore stomach, the ghost looked at Ryder in confusion. His mind just couldn't compute the fact that a human had hurt him. It just wasn't possible for his very limited logic.

"Well, that works," Melody murmured with relief. She seriously thought her friend was going to get squashed to death before her eyes. This new turn of events was a welcoming, pleasant shock. Then, with a giant grin, she cheered Ryder on. "Hit him again! Kick his stupid ass!"

Smile widening due to Melody's cheers, Ryder slammed another punch into the side of Gregory's head. "That's for making me lose a tooth!" the thief yelled, going after the ghost as he stumbled to the left, shaking his throbbing head dully. Ryder slugged Gregory again, shouting, "That's for Melody!"

As the ghost lurched backwards, looking stunned and in pain, Ryder slid the coin into his boot, locking his eyes with Gregory's. "And this is for everything else!" he finished in a yell, leaping up into the air to plant a kick directly into Greg's chest.

The final blow sent Gregory to the ground. The moment he landed with a defeated yelp, the ghost vanished out of existence to be reabsorbed into the original Gregory wherever he was.

There was silence as Melody and Ryder watched what happened in astonishment before Melody laid back down, put her one good hand in the air, and exclaimed, "Woo! Yeah! That was un-be-_lievable_!" The girl was too overwhelmed with relief to stop smiling or giggling.

Panting softly as he stared down at the spot Gregory had been, Ryder looked over his shoulder and grinned triumphantly at Melody. "That is the coolest thing I've ever done," he admitted before kneeling back down by her side. He gently laid a hand on her forehead as he asked, "Are you okay, Mel? Is anything broken?"

Just as she was about to answer, Danny landed beside the thieves with a quiet grunt, looking winded and bruised. He didn't hesitate to create a protective domed shield around the group as he looked everyone over. "I'm sorry, guys," the teen apologized breathlessly. "I tried to get here as fast as I could..." His gaze drifted down to Melody as he grimaced and asked, "You alright?"

"Oh, I'm peachy keen," Melody retorted sarcastically. Pointing to her now bruised, broken arm lying on her abdomen, she said, "My arm's just fractured. No big deal. I'll just buck it up as I go crawling around in the vents. And who really needs two hands while typing to hack into a computer? Psshh! We're not screwed at all. Just a minor set-. Ohhh ho ho, shit, this hurts a lot more than what I thought it would!"

Looking fearfully up at the two boys as she gritted her teeth through the pain, she asked pathetically, "Wh-what are we going to do?"

Ryder and Danny stared helplessly back down at the girl before looking at each other. Without Melody, they couldn't get out of this room. Without Melody, even if they got out of the room somehow, there was no way to turn off the ghost shield. They needed Melody to be able to get through the vents.

Danny's eyes suddenly flicked down to the walkie-talkie hanging through Ryder's belt, and his eyebrows rose in realization. "Ryder!" the teen blurted, causing the thief to jump in surprise.

Ryder brought his eyes over at Danny, mumbling unhappily, "Yeah?"

Danny waved his hands through the air as he quickly babbled, "You! You gotta go through the vents! You can do it, you're a thief. And Melody can tell you what to do on the computer through the walkie-talkie! It works! We can still save this plan!"

Not even halfway through Danny's speech, Ryder began to shake his head. "No," he said firmly, "no, I can't do it. I'm not. I won't, I won't. There's gotta be another way."

"Oh, yeah. So you can go head to head with a giant ghost that could kill you in one swing of his arm, but you won't climb through a vent shaft to save us all!" Melody said in frustration. "You're retarded! Come on, Ryder! I just watched you beat up Gregory without an ounce of fear! Don't tell me you're quitting now just because of a harmless vent shaft. Honestly, you should be more worried about the hacking than the crawling."

Ryder gave Melody a pained look as he muttered, his voice shaking, "I _can't_. Don't you understand? I can't do it." He dragged both trembling hands across his bald skull and shook his head. "I can fight, but I can't do that. We have to think of something else."

"There isn't anything else, Ryder!" Danny told the man, gritting his teeth when a few ecto-blasts struck his shield. He kneeled down, refocusing on the thief as he said, "Melody's right. We need you. You're the only one who can get through there. I can't leave and Melody can't move. You're the only one left."

Stopping when he realized he wasn't making much headway, Danny let out a tense, frustrated sigh. He glared at the floor for a moment before looking up at the thief and demanding, "Why can't you do it, Ryder? Why?"

Fear entered Ryder's eyes, and his gaze drifted off to the side, seeming to stare out at a scene only he could see. "I...I got stuck," he breathed, voice hitching with anxiety, "I got stuck. I c-can't do it again. I'll get stuck again."

Grabbing Ryder by the sleeve again, Melody waited until Ryder was looking down at her before she said with both great sympathy and firmness, "Ryder, you're not going to get stuck again. I promise. We need you right now. Vlad, Danny, and me and...and Jet. He needs you too. You have to do this, Ryder. You're the best guy for the job. I know it. You won't get stuck."

Looking more guilty now than afraid, Ryder whispered, "But- but what if I do?"

"You won't," Danny promised the man, catching his eyes as he nodded solemnly. "Whatever happened last time won't happen again. We need you, Ryder."

The thief slowly lowered his gaze to the ground, shoulders shaking slightly. "I- they left me," he murmured without looking up. "When-when I got stuck, they left me f-for two days. They were...were gonna let me die in the vents. I h-had to break my collarbone and shoulder just...just to get out. T-then, when they saw I wasn't d-dead, they sent me to prison." He pressed his hands against his forehead as he muttered, "I can't...I'm too scared."

Reaching out to put a hand on Ryder's shoulder, Danny said, "Yes, _you_ can." Ryder glanced up at the boy before looking uncertainly back down at Melody.

Smiling up at her friend reassuringly, Melody told him, "I know you're scared, Ryder, but I also know you can do this. And we won't leave you. Ever."

Ryder stared back down at Melody before closing his eyes and nodding slowly. "Okay," he whispered. "I know you won't leave. I know, I know." He let out a shaky breath as he reopened his eyes and glared up at the vent opening. He'd been avoiding this moment for six years...and now he finally had to confront the source of his claustrophobia.

The thief rose to his feet, squeezing his hands into fists as he shoved his feelings deep down inside. This was just like any other heist. Without looking at Danny, he said, "Let down the shield when I say, alright?"

Ryder reached into his pockets and handed Melody the matches and lighter as he told her seriously, "You gotta say my joke if you're starting the fire, Mel. I'm totally serious."

Ordinarily, he would've stopped to wait for her response, but he wanted to do this before he chickened out. And he was dangerously close to wimping out. Pointing down at Danny, Ryder ordered, "Let the shield down."

Danny nodded, pushing the surrounding ghosts back long enough for Ryder to sprint out of the shield and towards the entrance to the vent. He recovered both himself and Melody with the shield as he kept his eyes on Ryder. Just as the thief leapt up for the vent, Danny created another, smaller shield beneath the thief's foot to lift him upwards enough that he was able to grab onto the vent and disappear inside.

As soon as Ryder was gone, Melody groaned as she struggled into a sitting position. "He's been surprising me all day today," she said as she pulled her dreamcatcher necklace out of her pocket. Looping it around her neck, she sighed to herself, "I guess I have to wear this ugly thing for it to work its ugly powers."

Bringing up her walkie-talkie to her mouth, Melody asked Ryder as she glanced over to Danny, "How are you doing, Ryder?"

Melody set the device down so she could take off her over shirt with a hiss of pain. Moving her wounded arm was excruciating, but she pushed through the stabs of pain as stubbornness and determination set in. She was kind of thankful now that she had decided to wear something underneath as she held her shirt up for Danny to take, saying, "Can you rip that in half for me? I need to make a sling for my arm if I'm gonna be running around the museum starting fires."

Careful not to touch Melody because of the dreamcatcher and keeping his focus on his shield, Danny reached out and began to slowly rip her shirt in half. He never would've been able to use his hands for another task while creating a shield before. It was just something else he needed to thank Vlad for later on.

The walkie-talkie crackled to life and Ryder's voice came through, sounding heavy with fear and dread. "I h-hate all of you right now," the thief growled. Melody and Danny could hear quiet thumps and grunts as Ryder continued to make his way through the vent shafts. No matter how upset the thief sounded, it was definitely reassuring to hear that he was actually moving instead of getting stuck five seconds into his excursion.

Smiling a little to herself, Melody picked up the walkie-talkie and said into it, "Yeah, well, that's okay. As long as you're moving your butt, I don't care. You're doing awesome, by the way. If you need any help, just tell us, okay?"

"M'ug, whatever," Ryder growled back at the girl, turning onto his side at the junction of two vent shafts so that he could shove his walkie-talkie back onto his belt. He didn't want to talk to anyone while he was having a panic-attack. Instead, he shut his eyes tight and stretched his arms out above his head so that he could feel where he was going and make himself smaller.

With each foot he squirmed himself, Ryder felt more sweat accumulating on his forehead. He coughed softly as a plume of dust blew into his face as he turned a corner.

"Oh, I hate this, I hate this," the thief whined, cringing as only more dust and dirt began to stick to his sweaty face and hands. It probably didn't help that he kept panting and sucking in dust with each desperate breath that he made. Ryder kicked his feet to push himself further along through the air ducts, opening his eyes to see where he was at.

Thankfully, his destination wasn't much farther.

Ryder screwed his eyes shut again, muttering under his breath, "Jet...Jet...Jet, I'm coming, kid. I swear I'm coming home." With each chant, he began to feel more comfortable and more determined. It wasn't much longer before he came to the end of his vent-tastic journey.

The thief didn't hesitate to push the vent cover ahead of him completely off the wall before sliding forward and squeezing himself out of the vents where he tumbled to the ground below. He landed on his butt, but quickly leapt back to his feet as he looked around the room.

It was small and dark yet bright with many different computer screens. As he looked around, the ghost seated at the wide array of monitors spun around in his chair, eyes widening upon seeing the dirt and dust covered Ryder.

As the ghost struggled to pull his taser out of his belt loop, Ryder stomped forward and delivered a kick to the side of his head. With help from the coin, the blow knocked the ghost guard out completely. Ryder yanked him from the chair and shoved him to the side as he plopped into the seat and spun back to face the large keyboard in front of him.

Pulling the walkie-talkie back out, Ryder muttered breathlessly, "Okay, I'm in. What do I do, Melody?"

"Oh, crap. Now it's my turn," Melody mumbled around the ripped up T-shirt in between her teeth. She tightened the knot one last time with a pull of her head before spitting it out and carefully placing her broken arm in its makeshift sling.

Once finished, she brought up the walkie-talkie and answered, "Uh...um. How do I describe-? You probably don't know the first step to hacking. Mmm. Crap. One second, Ryder. Let me think."

Slowly but surely, Melody got to her feet. Lips set in a tight frown and face pale from the pain, the girl immediately began to pace the small space she had under Danny's dome of a shield. As she did so, she used her free hand to play with her short hair. After a minute or so, the girl nodded to herself.

"Alright," Melody spoke into the radio. "I'm going to lead you step-by-step toward opening the doors first, Ryder. There is probably a program open right now that allows you to give commands to every door in the museum. Everything might be on lockdown right now due to all this fighting, but do you see it? If not, tell me exactly what you see."

Ryder answered with a confused mumbled sound as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. He looked up at the main monitor above him, narrowing his eyes at what was laid out on the screen. From what he could see, the program that was open looked a lot like the drawing he'd made of the museum. At least it was something he recognized.

"It's the museum," the thief explained into the walkie-talkie. He reached out for the mouse and grasped it firmly as he moved it across the screen, hovering the tiny pointer above the glowing red parts of the map that he could only assume were locked doors.

"It's like a schematic of the entire museum," Ryder continued quietly. "There's red spots on it that I think are the locked doors." He looked off to the side, eyes widening when he realized he was looking at security feed of the main room. He could actually see Melody and Danny. Speaking into the talkie again, Ryder said with a smirk, "And I can see you guys."

Melody grinned as she glanced around at all the video cameras. "Okay," she said. "That's probably it. Now click on the main door for this room. You'll have to give it a command to open, I'm sure. We don't know the command, but I know some code that will help you find the password."

The girl waited till Ryder had done what she said before slowly telling him the exact line of code. She hated how slow the method was because she could usually fire off this kind of thing on a keyboard in less than few seconds, but it was better than nothing.

"There. That should be it," she said at last while looking over at the main door with high hopes. "Press enter, and let's hope I'm right."

Ryder's finger hovered over the enter key for a moment as he chewed on his bottom lip. "Just work," he whispered, closing his eyes. "Please, just work."

Gritting his teeth, the thief pressed down on the key and waited for something horrible to happen. To his immense surprise, the exact opposite happened. He watched in awe as the main doors slid open, accompanied by a happy chime sound from some sort of speaker in the room he was seated in.

"Ha! Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Ryder cheered, punching the air in victory as he let out another whoop. He could see Melody and Danny celebrating as well through the security feed, and he quickly composed himself as he asked into the walkie-talkie, "How do I open the other doors? And then turn off the shield? Gotta do that too."

Grinning slightly, Ryder added teasingly, "This hacking thing isn't so hard."

Rolling her eyes at Ryder's comment, Melody said with a smile, "Oh, of course not. Especially when you have a genius giving you all the right directions."

Motioning with her good hand as she ventured toward the open main door, Melody told Danny, "Come on. Let's get into the hallway. I can probably open all the doors from the scanner outside there, but Ryder is going to have to take care of the shield."

"Right," Danny agreed as he rose back to his feet. He glared out at the ghosts surrounding him and expanded the shield to push them away so that he and Melody could run for the open door. Once they were out in the hallway, Danny flattened his shield out and covered the doorway so that the few pursuing ghosts couldn't get through.

The teen looked up at Melody and grinned as he said, "Work your magic on the scanner, Ice Queen."

"Hang on a sec," Melody told Ryder before clipping the walkie-talkie onto her pants. She flashed Danny a cocky grin before consulting the scanner with her one good hand. Despite her current pain and fear, there was something very thrilling about her work as Melody's mind delved into computer thought. She forgot all her surrounding distractions and focused purely on the old piece of technology that sat there like a sitting duck for her intellect.

In only a minute Melody had the place worked out and at her mercy. The system the museum used was a very easy and outdated one. Because of her experience, Melody now wished she hadn't worried so much.

Smiling slyly down at the scanner, Melody said triumphantly, "Amateurs."

That said, every door in the museum opened. With another few touches to the screen, Melody had overridden the system to make sure that nobody could easily close the doors again without her permission. Only she knew the password for that command.

"We're good to go," Melody told Danny, breathless from the excitement. "You should probably go help Vlad now. I think Ryder and I can take care of ourselves from here."

Danny nodded back at Melody, giving her a small smile. "You two be safe," he told her, wishing that he could hug her at that moment. Two things stopped him: one, she'd probably punch him, and two, he'd get zapped by that dreamcatcher necklace. He wasn't sure which one he wanted to avoid the most.

The half-ghost waited until Melody had gotten a head start down the hallway before his grin widened as he yelled, "And don't forget the ghost shield, either!"

With that said, Danny dropped his shield encasing the doorway and flew back into the main room in search of Vlad. It only took a moment for him to decide to follow the cries of pain. He was pretty sure that would easily lead him to the man.

While Danny had gone off with Melody and Ryder, Vlad had taken on the bulk of the ghost attacks as he went after Ptolemy. Vlad had split himself in four to help with the work. Even with four of himself flying around, Vlad still had a difficult time because of the sheer size and tenacity of the group of ghosts. It was obvious that most of them didn't want to attack but were forced to because of the Collector's power over them. No matter how hard Vlad took them down, if they weren't completely out or were unable to move, the poor ghosts would have to get back up and keep fighting.

By the time Danny caught up with Vlad, the man had taken down all but a handful of more powerful ghosts. All the others were either laying on the ground out cold, somehow encumbered by a purple sticky substance, or slowly but failing at getting to their feet. It was a messy sight.

There was only one clone of Vlad left when Danny arrived on the scene, and it was taking on a ghost with the ability to throw sharp spikes out of her forearms. With a fierce battle yell, the girl who was dressed as a Roman warrior swung her arm through the air. Three giant green spikes flew through the air with scary accuracy. Only by skill and a tinge of luck did Vlad dive sideways and into a roll.

Coming out of the roll, Vlad turned around and grabbed one of the spikes embedding into the floor. With a grunt, he pried the spike out, got to his feet, and rushed the ghost girl. Seeing him advance, the ghost wildly swung her arms at Vlad, sending a barrage of spikes his way. A few choice ducks, zig-zag patterns, and small ghost shields kept Vlad unharmed.

Arriving close enough to hit her, Vlad didn't waste any time in using the spike like a baseball bat as he slung the thing into the ghost's gut. She gave a pained grunt, grabbed the spike, and wrenched it right out of Vlad's hands. Flinging it away, the girl came at Vlad by trying to drive her elbow into his stomach. Unfortunately for her, Vlad's specialty was close combat and he easily side-stepped her attack, grabbed her by the shoulder, and let his electric powers flow. In a few seconds, the ghost girl's green eyes closed from the pain and she dropped to the ground.

Breathing hard from his most recent take down, the Vlad clone looked up to see Danny coming toward him. He glanced to the side to see the original Vlad standing there, panting as well from trying so hard to catch the speedy ghost that had Ptolemy in his grips. Obviously it had been a futile task.

Soon as Danny landed beside them, Vlad created a shield around them to protect them from the few ghosts left now heading toward them. "What happened?" Vlad asked Danny with concern. "I heard Melody giving Ryder orders over the walkie-talkie. Are they alright?"

"...Relatively," Danny answered after a pause. He was still a bit stunned to see just how many ghosts Vlad had taken down by himself. It were times like these that Danny was reminded just how powerful Vlad really was. And, for the first time in a while, that was heavily reassuring.

Clearing his throat, Danny quickly explained, "Gregory went after us, and he ended up hurting Melody enough that she couldn't get through the vent so we sent Ryder through, and he opened the doors and now Melody's going off to start the fire, and she's still gotta turn off the ghost shield, but they're both okay."

The teen took a deep breath, since he hadn't breathed through the entire explanation, before he asked with a hesitant smile, "You need any help?"

Sighing in aggravation as he wiped sweat off his forehead, Vlad glanced over to where he could see Ptolemy and the speedy ghost off in the distance. His eyes narrowed as he quickly tried to calculate out a plan.

"I do," Vlad admitted with a nod. "I'm too tired to chase that ghost anymore, but you look like you still have a lot of energy left. If we could only guide him into a trap that will make him trip up and let go of Ptolemy long enough for me to get to him with the orb."

The teen remained silent as he followed Vlad's gaze, eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully. He'd begun to notice that he thought a lot more before he did things since Vlad had started teaching him. Glancing up at the man, Danny's smile grew into a grin as he said, "I got an idea, Gramps."

Danny's eyes glowed blue as he lifted up his hand to show Vlad the ice swirling around above his palm. "He can't run on ice, right?"

After a pause for thought, both Vlad and his clone matched Danny's grin.

"It's perfect," Vlad said with some excitement. "Alright. I want you to cover some strips of ground over there with some ice while I distract the ghost who has Ptolemy. My clone can take care of the last few ghosts here that might intervene if we're not careful. As soon as the ghost with the speed powers lets go of Ptolemy, I want you to freeze him while I go after Ptolemy. Understand? Good. Let's go."

Their strategy in place, Vlad let down his shield and left his clone and Danny behind as he shot straight for Ptolemy.

While Vlad went after the speed ghost, Danny flew off in the direction they were currently heading to block them off. He gave the floor a nice covering of ice before moving to the side and layering that as well just in case the speedster tried to turn to the side to get around him.

Once he was ready, Danny positioned himself directly in the middle of the patches of ice and turned his sights onto the approaching ghosts.

As Vlad had hoped, the speedy ghost had to swerve violently to the side to dodge around him. Unfortunately for the ghost, it tried to screech to the side again to avoid Danny only to hit a patch of ice dead on. Much like a cartoon character slipping on a banana peel, the speedster let out a frightened yelp as he lost all traction and went skidding across the floor just as quickly as he'd been running moments before.

As the speedy ghost flew uncontrollably off in one direction, Ptolemy was flung in the opposite. Though Danny really wanted to see the jerky little ghost plow into the ground, he kept his eyes on the speedster and dashed forward to blast him with an ice ray that froze him in mid-air.

Danny flew up to the frozen ghost and told him with a grin, "You really need to _snow_ down, dude."

Ptolemy hit the ice with a shout of pain, landing on his back and skidding a few feet before coming to a complete stop. Wincing, the ghost rolled onto his side while grumbling, "That was really smooth." He swore in Greek as he held his swirling head. It had been a very long time since he had felt this kind of pain. He'd forgotten how it felt.

The small ghost froze when he felt a pair of feet land on either side of him, frowning a little to himself in fear. Lowering his hand from his hand, Ptolemy grimly looked up at Vlad who loomed menacingly over him. It was obvious by now that the ghost boy had lost.

Still trying to maintain his prior assuredness, Ptolemy said with a cocky curl of his lip, "You know, we could make a deal, Vlad. I know you're a man who likes power. I could help you with that endeavor."

Matching Ptolemy's dark, confident smirk, Vlad said down to the ghost, "Oh, you will be assisting me with that undertaking very soon, thank you very much." Leaning down, Vlad placed the orb on Ptolemy's chest, slightly enjoying the sight of the ghost's small squirm of unease. "And I assure you," Vlad added, "this won't be comfortable for you."

Again, Ptolemy swore with a sigh just as his entire essence dematerialized before being forcefully sucked into the orb. The process took only a few simple seconds, and when it was finished Vlad stood back up to his full height with a tired but happy smile.

Just as Vlad straightened up, Danny skidded into his side in his haste to get a look at the orb. When he saw that it had successfully captured Ptolemy, the boy smiled brilliantly, punched Vlad's arm, and did a quick back flip in the air as he let out a whoop of joy.

"I knew it'd work! Yes!" Danny shouted with a triumphant laugh. Floating back down to the floor beside Vlad, the teen cleared his throat in an attempt to calm himself down. They still had the hardest part of the mission ahead of them. And although things were going good now, they still needed to tread cautiously.

Danny pulled his walkie-talkie off his belt loop, turning it on as he said, "We've got Ptolemy, guys, and we're about to go after the Collector. How's the ghost shield and fire situation?"

As Danny was asking this, Melody was rushing down the miles of hallways in the museum with a grimace on her face. She had already asked Ryder for directions to the library, and so far he hadn't given her a single wrong turn. Her only problem when she rounded a corner was running into a squad of armed ghost guards. Surprise on all their faces, the ghosts stopped short as well as Melody as she swore colorfully.

Pausing for only a second or two, Melody decided it was either now or never she could test the power of the dreamcatcher around her neck as she lunged forward and touched one guard on the forehead. The girl gave a scared cry as a purple spark exploded out of her fingertips, sending the unprepared ghost rocketing backwards with a wail of surprise and pain.

"Eeep!" Melody squealed, quickly retracting her hand at the sight of so much damage. She glanced around at all the guards surrounding her. They all wore expressions of astonishment and, to her uttermost delight, fear.

Extending her hand out and waving it around warningly at all the guards, Melody said with a viciously happy smile, "C'mon! Who wants to be next?"

Danny and Vlad looked at each other, eyebrows raised when they didn't get a response right away. However, before they could worry, Ryder answered, sounding out of breath as if he was running somewhere. Knowing Ryder, he probably was.

"We took down the shield," the thief explained quickly. "Melody's on her way to the library, and I'm gonna meet her there. You guys should hurry. I'm gonna make that fire spread as fast as a fat kid eats cakes."

Shaking his head with smirk, Danny replied, "Alright, Ryder. You two be safe, okay?"

"No problem, Dan-o!" Ryder shot back. "Ryder out!"

Danny put the walkie-talkie back on his belt when all he heard was static, and he looked up at Vlad again. His eyebrows creased in worry when he saw just how tired the man really looked. The teen definitely couldn't blame him, though. He'd taken down the entire room of ghosts by himself, but Danny still needed him for the coming fight. He couldn't do this alone and neither could Vlad. They needed each other.

The teen's expression was firm as he asked, "You ready for this, Vlad?"

As Danny asked this, Vlad absorbed his clone. A bit of extra strength returned to the man, allowing Vlad to close his eyes and let out a long, steadying breath. Although the fight had taken a lot of energy out of Vlad, he still felt like he had enough stamina to keep pushing forward. A few burn and cut marks could be seen on his arms, but he had no pestering injuries that were weighing him down and hindering his movement.

If anything, the man felt more free after such a grueling fight than he had in months. But before he could capture the wholeness of that bright freedom, there was still one more obstacle in all their ways that he needed to get rid of. His goal was so crystal clear now that Vlad knew for sure it was in his grasp.

Opening his eyes, Vlad looked down at Danny and grinned genuinely at him as he answered, "I'm ready."

Danny immediately matched Vlad's grin as he bent down to pick up the orb that contained Ptolemy. After examining it for a moment, he placed it in Vlad's hands and said, his smile only widening, "Then let's do this."

A/N: So next week we'll have the ultimate fight with the Collector! I'm excited to post it! I just need to edit it, and it's pretty long too. But I promise to have it ready by this next weekend. So I'll see you readers then!


	32. Chapter 32 Severe Stratagems

A/N: Sorry again for being late, but at least it's not an entire week late. Thanks for being patient with me. But I don't want to waste any time with this note. It's time for the ultimate take down! There will be some chapters after this one, so don't worry; they are just concluding chapters to sum everything up.

And to one anonymous reviewer, yes, Ptolemy was totally based off Bartimaeus. I love those books, and they are the inspiration of a lot of things I write. I just thought that Bartimaeus' character needed a little shout out. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing a taste of him here!

Besides saying that, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: ML and I don't own anything Danny Phantom. Everything us is ours!

Previously In The Collector: In the first part of the two part finale chapters, the group finds the source of all their troubles, a snarky boy ghost by the name of Ptolemy. Before our group could capture him, though, they find out that all the ghosts have orders from the Collector to attack anyone who threatens Ptolemy. Dividing themselves, Vlad fought the ghosts while Ryder and Melody were forced to switch roles. Eventually, though, the place was hacked, the door were opened, Ptolemy was trapped, and everyone is ready for the next step to their revenge plan.

Chapter 32 Severe Stratagems

"Excuse me!" Melody said cheerfully as she ran through another group of guards, grinning winningly as the dreamcatcher sent all the ghosts shooting off in different directions. She rushed around the last corner Ryder had told her take, and she suddenly found herself in the biggest library she had ever seen.

Stopping short, the girl looked up at the four full floors of old books, finely polished wooden shelves and railings, and plush red carpet. Tasteful decorations of paintings and stone busts sat and hung around the entire room. It was furnished with old victorian chairs with high, ornate backs and tables that were ornamented with vases that sprouted detailed, beautiful flower arrangements.

The room was by far the most elegant place Melody had ever stepped foot in. She couldn't wait to watch it burn.

Bringing the walkie-talkie to her mouth, Melody said with excitement, "I'm here, Ryder. Crap, this place is amazing! What do I do next? Just start lighting things up?"

"Yep!" Ryder cheerfully answered. He'd stopped about halfway through his mission to meet up with Melody when he saw a display of ghostly objects that he liked. Completely ignoring Vlad's earlier order not to steal anything, he'd gone ahead and shoved his pockets full of anything expensive looking that struck his fancy.

After picking a display clean, he continued running towards the library, grinning at the comfortable weight of stolen stuff in his many pockets. Lifting up the walkie-talkie again, Ryder told Melody excitedly, "You can make a pile of books and set that on fire, or you can set one on fire and throw it onto another shelf! Or you can just use a bunch of matches and set a bunch of different books on fire! Ha-ha! I love fire!"

Making a face at the walkie-talkie, Melody grumbled into it, "You are liking this plan way too much, dude." Shaking her head, the girl quickly discarded her feelings towards Ryder's overexcitement for vandalism as she started grabbing multiple books off the shelves and throwing them into multiple burn piles all around the room. If she was going to sabotage something, she was going to do it methodologically.

Once she had enough piles on the ground floor, the girl took out the box of matches. Holding the box in between her teeth, she used her one free hand to start a few matches before carefully lighting some piles of books. A few she even threw onto the soft, old sofas around the room or on the floor without much care. With a wicked grin, she set some curtains on fire and watched in satisfaction as the fire slowly began to travel upward and catch fire to other things.

When the matches soon ran out, Melody took out the lighter and began to light the rest of the piles of books. By then the room was filling a bit with smoke and getting pretty warm because the two dozen bonfires and more blazing high. Finished with all her piles, the girl fed her fires with more books as if they were petunias in a garden she wanted to nourish and help grow.

Choking now on the smoke, Melody said into walkie-talkie, "I think I'm finished. There is no way someone is going to easily put out this fire."

Rounding a corner while snagging a shiny, green gem off a pedestal, Ryder quickly replied with, "Awesome!" He was silent for a moment as he came upon a group of uneasy looking ghost guards. Instead of coming at him to restrain him, they simply flew past him like they didn't see him. They weren't even going towards the library, either. They were actually headed towards the exit.

"Huh," the thief commented, momentarily confused by the ghosts' actions. He thought they were supposed to try and stop the fire or something. "Maybe the Collector skipped out on their paycheck or something," he mumbled to himself before clearing his throat and lifting the walkie-talkie back to his lips.

He spoke slowly into it at first, but his voice quickly picked up in speed and loudness as he continued. "And did you say my joke? The one I told you about? You're supposed to say the joke, Melody. I've been planning this joke for a while now. This situation will be completely ruined if you don't say it, and I had to climb through a vent. I'm covered in gross stuff, Melody! Don't tell me you didn't say the joke!"

"Your _joke_?" Melody whined. "Why the hell would I say your joke? Gawd, Ryder. It's lame."

"Y'know what's lame?" Ryder shot back, his tone clearly disapproving. "Friends who don't say their friends jokes even after they did something that was totally awful because their best friend in the whole, entire universe asked them to. Now that's lame, Melody. That is _lame_."

"Okay. _Okay!_ Alright. Fine. I'll say your stupid line," Melody sighed in exasperation. "Jeez, I can't believe you're using the best friend card on me. So freaking stupid."

Ryder grinned silently to himself as he came into the homestretch to reach the library. He smelled the smoke before he actually saw it. And when he reached the doorway, his eyes were already watering up with stinging tears. Melody had done a very good job at being an arsonist.

The thief met Melody's eyes just as she came out into the hallway, and he put his hands on his hips impatiently. "I'm waiting," Ryder told Melody with a raised eyebrow.

Caught and nowhere to go with no excuses to say, Melody's shoulders slumped in defeat. She might as well cave in now than painfully string it out till later. Better to get the lameness over with as soon as possible.

Straightening up with a cough, she sung unenthusiastically, "We didn't start the fire. It was always burning, since the world was turning." Sighing, Melody asked, "There. Happy now?"

Giving Melody a beaming grin, Ryder said, "Yes!" He personally thought that someone else saying his joke made it sound ten times better because it was so awesome. Or, maybe, he was just utterly ecstatic that their plan was working. Of course, they hadn't heard from Vlad or Danny yet, but the thief was positive the pair would easily take the Collector down for the count.

Reaching out to gently grab her by her good arm, Ryder turned and led Melody in the direction of the exit. "You did a good job, Mel," he said sincerely, still smiling his big, dorky smile. "Now all we gotta do is wait for Danny and Vlad to kick some butt and then we're going home. Any minute now, they're gonna be busting into the Collector's office to give him a well-deserved butt whooping!"

-Meanwhile-

In the Curator's study, the ghost sat at his desk, elbows placed firmly on the glowing, wooden surface as he leaned forward with his hands grasping fistfuls of his dark hair. He'd sensed the shift in his abilities the moment Ptolemy was captured. It didn't even take his frantic ghost guards' warnings for him to know that the halfas had figured out his weakness.

No matter how weak he was feeling, the Collector wasn't going to leave this room. Instead, he waved away his guards, ordering them to return to their posts. They'd left with many protests, all going ignored by the Collector. He wasn't leaving and neither were the humans.

The Collector raised his dully glowing eyes to his double doors just as they were thrown ajar. He remained seated and unsurprised when he saw that it was Danny and Vlad standing in his doorway, looking tense and ready for a fight. He'd been waiting for them.

Pulling his hands from his once neatly combed hair, the ghost stood up, pressing a hand against his desk as he momentarily stumbled. It had been so long since he had last felt this way...so powerless. His ability wasn't completely gone, but Ptolemy, his fuel, had been taken away. He was near to running on empty.

The Collector straightened up, facing the halfas with a scowl of hatred as he shoved himself away from his desk and strode forward.

"To what do I owe this unforeseen visit, halfas?" the Collector asked with mock curiosity. Tilting his unkempt head to the side, he said, an uneasy smile twitching at his lips, "Here to beg for mercy, I hope."

As his only answer, Vlad held up his hand with the orb in it. He was expressionless as he activated his electric powers and mirthlessly electrocuted a mute Ptolemy inside the device. After a few seconds of crippling whatever power the Collector had left, Vlad lowered his hand while leveling his glare with the disheveled ghost before him.

"As you can see, it's quite the opposite, _Collector_," Vlad said with a dark smirk.

The Collector's smirk disappeared, and he placed a hand over his face as he took a unsteady step back. If possible, what Vlad had just done to the orb made him feel even weaker than he had moments before. The ghost growled softly, shaking his head violently as he raised his furious eyes back up to meet Vlad's.

"If you think you will get away with calling me that, you are _sorely_ mistaken," the Collector spat, clenching his shaking hands into fists.

The ghost took a steadying breath, eyes flicking back and forth between Danny and Vlad before resting solely on the older half-ghost. "What do expect to accomplish by coming here?" the Collector asked through gritted teeth. "Do you think I will allow you to leave? Is that it?"

"Not willingly, of course," Vlad answered with nod. "But don't try to deny the fact that you're weakened. You have hardly any more control or power. That's all gone now, and you have nothing left but desperation. You have no authority over this situation anymore, and you know this. You know this all too well.

"You've flirted with disaster and abused your privileges for far too long, Collector, and now your time is up," Vlad continued, voice serious with ominous intent. "There will be no human exhibits for now on. Actually, after today, there will be no museum. We're destroying everything, and that includes you."

The Collector balked back at Vlad as if he couldn't comprehend what he'd just been told. His eyes shot to Danny and narrowed when the boy nodded firmly back at him.

"We're not joking," Danny told the ghost, glaring fearlessly right back at the Collector. The ghost didn't scare him. If they'd gotten this far, he knew they couldn't lose. Raising his chin defiantly, the teen finished, "It's over, Collector. You're not winning this time."

The Collector remained silent for several moments before he began to slowly shake his head back and forth. Surprisingly, instead of showing fear, the ghost began to laugh.

"You truly think you can destroy _me_?" the ghost demanded through his laughter. He began to calm himself as he continued, "Foolish, mindless creatures. I can't be defeated. I am weakened now, yes, but you will not destroy me or my work here. I have come too far to be defeated by the likes of you two. I am certain my men are already in the process of capturing your friends. It won't be long before they are brought here and I can use them against you."

Taking slow steps back towards his desk, the Collector said, holding his arms out to the sides, "But if it is a fight you want until then, halfas, I am more than happy to oblige. I will break you both before I return you to your displays."

He reached his desk, hands snapping out to grasp a glowing, golden ring off the surface. He slid it onto his index finger, closing his eyes as his entire body shone with a golden light. As the light died down, the Collector grinned, his strength returning nearly as quickly as it had been taken away.

Bringing his eyes back to the half-ghosts, the Collector clenched his glowing hands into fists and said, "Then I will leave you there to rot until I see fit. So...as they say, what are you waiting for?"

Danny and Vlad shared a brief, grim glance to affirm each other. Both of them knew what they had to do because of many days of training for this moment, but that didn't make that task very easy or pleasurable. Nevertheless, the half ghosts were more than ready to get started.

Returning his eyes to the Collector, Vlad started forward with his hands bursting into rosy ectoplasm power as Danny stood where he was. As soon as Vlad saw the Collector white gaze zeroing in on him, the man suddenly shot to his left and deeper into the room while throwing a barrage of ectoplasm blasts down on his enemy. As Vlad distracted the Collector momentarily by his strategic movement, Danny let loose with his own attack.

The Collector easily deflected Vlad's attack with a domed golden shield that covered his left side, but he was unprepared for Danny's surprise assault from the front. He caught the ecto-blast coming from the corner of his eye and turned towards it, quickly raising a hand to create another defensive barrier.

Unfortunately, he was just a second too late, and the weak shield he created was destroyed upon impact, throwing him violently off of his feet. He flew backwards before crashing into one of his many bookshelves and sliding to the ground as books rained down around his head.

Raising his pounding head with a snarl, the Collector glared at both of the approaching half-ghosts and shot out a hand to grab the hefty book that had hit the floor by his side. Since this was his own office, the Collector knew what each individual artifact inside did. He had the home field advantage.

The Collector rose swiftly to his feet, focused all of his attention on Danny, and shouted, "_Stop_!"

The ghost had just enough power to still control at least one half-ghost at a time, and Danny realized this only as he froze in mid-air. Before he even had time to look shocked, the Collector opened up the book in his hands and aimed it at the boy just as a red beam of light blasted out of the pages like a laser.

The burst of power hit Danny head on, knocking him right out of the air with a shout of pain. He slammed full force into the Collector's desk, breaking it upon contact.

Without looking back at Danny, Vlad rushed in to fill the teen's place. Landing swiftly beside the Collector, the man spun in a roundhouse kick, violently knocking the book out of the ghost's hands. He flung a fist back, aiming for a punch next to the Collector's unprotected face.

The Collector moved with surprising swiftness, mostly due to the ring he now wore as he turned and caught Vlad's fist, stopping it just before the punch landed in his face. The Collector held the half-ghost in place, leaning down to snarl into his face, "I've waited a long time for this, halfa."

Without waiting for a response, the Collector straightened up, yanked Vlad forward, and kicked him hard in the chest as he released his fist. He watched with some satisfaction as the man was propelled away from him before spinning quickly back around to face his next opponent.

Danny had recovered quickly and, though his body ached severely, he fired several blasts of ectoplasm at the Collector as he rose back into the air.

In an irritatingly calm manner, the Collector knelt down and grabbed hold of a glowing knight's shield. Hefting the old piece of armor up onto his shoulder, he deflected Danny's attack, causing the energy to bounce right back at the teen. Eyes shooting wide, Danny quickly turned himself intangible and dropped back down to the ground as he ducked for cover behind a stack of books.

Panting softly, he peered around the side of his hiding spot and looked for Vlad.

After a few seconds of looking, Danny felt a hand touch his shoulder. Upon turning his head in alarm, he heard Vlad whisper from his invisible state beside him, "I'm right here. You should turn invisible too. I have a plan."

Once Danny had vanished from sight, Vlad said, "Coming straight at him isn't working how I would have liked. He knows too much about his own powerful artifacts for us to easily take him down. This time let's use some stealth. Try to get close to him while invisible and hit him close range. That might wear him out some more. If you get caught, act as a distraction for me, and I'll do the same for you. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Danny answered quietly as he peeked out from behind the books one last time. He could see the Collector looking for them as he slowly moved through the room, white eyes narrowed. Danny had never seen the ghost look so formidable before...maybe he was just worried.

Shaking himself to get his head back in the game, Danny flew out from behind the stack of books and went straight for the Collector. Instead of using his ectoplasm this time, the boy got in close to the ghost and punched him right in the face as powerfully as he could.

With a shout of pain, the Collector stumbled back from the attack, shaking his head violently as he attempted to focus again. Danny didn't give him time to as he flipped into the air to plow both of his feet right into the Collector's gut.

The ghost was thrown through the air again, and he crashed through two stacks of books and a suit of armor before sliding to a halt on his back. His eyes snapped open as he glared at the ceiling and said with a smile, "Very clever, halfas."

Chuckling softly to himself, the Collector turned himself invisible as well before Vlad or Danny could get to him. As the half-ghosts went still in dread, Danny felt a chilling presence rise up in front of him right before a freezing cold hand wrapped around his throat.

The teen gasped as his air supply was instantly cut off and he was lifted right off the ground. He grabbed at the invisible hand choking him, snapping back into visibility himself just as the Collector cruelly laughed into the struggling boy's face, "I can see you."

With a fierce battle growl, Vlad flashed into visibility just as he rammed his elbow into the side of the Collector's head. He coupled the attack with a brutal kick to the ghost's side. There was no holding back for Vlad. Both moves had full intent to do damage.

The Collector lost all grip on Danny, returning to visibility as he stumbled painfully to the side. His vision blanked out, and he roughly reached up to yank away the sunglasses he'd put on to see the half-ghosts. He gritted his teeth, turning his bleeding head back to look at Vlad.

He threw the sunglasses to the side, pointing directly at Vlad as he snarled, "_Don't__move_!" As the man was forced to stand in place, the Collector slid forward and slugged him in the gut before spinning on his heel and plowing a roundhouse kick into the side of his head.

The blows took Vlad down to the ground with a short cry of pain. He landed roughly on his side, wincing as his vision swirled and his stomach ached. Even from his fallen position, Vlad struck out the best way he knew how. Rolling onto his back, the man looked over his chest as he shot some well aimed ectoplasm rays out of his palms at the Collector nearby.

Dashing his glowing hands through the air, the Collector knocked aside Vlad's attacks as if they were nothing more than annoying insects. He grinned vilely as he kicked the downed halfa in the side as hard as he could. "This ring makes me stronger than you, you pathetic man," the Collector told Vlad, ignoring his gasp of pain as he kicked him again without restraint. "And I'm going to make you pay for your stupidi-"

"Shut up!" Danny shouted as he leapt up from the ground and tackled the Collector right in the gut. He wouldn't allow the ghost to hurt Vlad anymore. He'd done more than enough to the man, and it was ending now.

The two combatants hit the ground only for the Collector to plant his foot in Danny's chest and propel him away over his head. The teen yelped when his back slammed into the wall, and he slid to the floor. Shaking away the pain, he rolled onto his stomach, throwing his hands up to blast the ghost. He wasn't quick enough.

The Collector had already rose to his feet and pointed his palm down at the boy. He didn't hesitate to blast him with his own burst of golden ecto-energy supplied solely from the ring.

Danny instinctively formed a square-shaped shield directly in front of his face that deflected the blast off to the side. Silently thanking Vlad's training in his mind, the teen shoved himself to a standing position and charged the Collector with a shout of fury.

The ghost narrowed his eyes and ducked smoothly past Danny's fist while swinging the shield attached to his forearm up and around to slam into the back of the boy's head.

Danny's sight lit up with pain as he dropped back to the floor, flat on his stomach. He could just feel blood matting the hair together on the back of his head, and he cringed as he rolled over onto his side. He promised himself that one day he would start wearing a helmet when he fought.

As the Collector turned around to give Danny another strong blow to his head with the golden shield as if to finish the teen off, Vlad's hand shot out and grabbed onto the ghost's forearm. The Collector's downward motion was vigorously yanked to a stop as Vlad jerked the ghost's arm toward him.

Adversaries glaring into each other's eyes, Vlad didn't hesitate as he allowed the savage flow of electricity crash down his arm and surge into the Collector.

Needless to say, the ghost didn't enjoy receiving a taste of his own medicine. He quickly ground his scream of pain away between his teeth as he swung his free arm around and hit Vlad hard enough in the throat to get him to let go. The pair broke away from each other, each nursing their own wounds as they both tried to recover as quickly as they could.

Panting hard, the Collector leaned an arm against a silver statue and spat over his shoulder at Vlad, "Y-you'll pay for that, you bastard."

Despite the temporary pain in his throat, Vlad couldn't help but give a nasty smile at the Collector's apparent distress. Slowly the ghost was cracking, and Vlad knew if he and Danny kept chipping away at the ghost's facade that they would eventually break through and win. He could see they were only moments away from victory. They just had to endure a little bit more.

Vlad rubbed his neck for another second, panting from the effort it took to produce more electricity and as his head throbbed from the previous hit. Conjuring up his own shield, Vlad suddenly charged at the Collector, giving the ghost no time to recover as he flung another powerful ball of ectoplasm at him.

The Collector squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his hands into fists. He didn't even turn to face the attack Vlad had shot at him. Instead, he focused on the power the ring was giving to him and disappeared on the spot. The ecto-blast exploded uselessly into the statue the ghost had been leaning against as he reappeared at the other side of the room.

However, before the Collector could get too comfortable with his teleportation, Danny came at him from his right and plowed a flying side kick into his stomach. As the ghost stumbled forward, choking in pain, the teen slammed his elbow down in between his shoulder blades.

Panting heavily, Danny spat down at the kneeling ghost, "Cursing was unnecessary, wouldn't you agree?"

The Collector gasped for air he didn't need and raised his glaring, glowing eyes. He could hear ecto-energy burning in Danny's palm as he prepared to attack him, and he forced himself upright as he pointed across the room at Vlad, shouting, "_Attack__him_!"

The abruptness of the order caught Danny off-guard, and his arm instantly shot away from the Collector, leveled on Vlad, and attacked him with the brutal energy he'd just been about to release on the Collector.

Thankfully, Vlad had seen the assault coming. He quickly halted in mid air, landed to have the better footing he knew he would need, and created a shield just in time. The blast was so powerful, Vlad was forcibly pushed back a few inches with a pained wince. As the smoke cleared from the explosion, Vlad let his shield flicker away. The move had taken a lot of energy out of an already tired Vlad, but he wasn't about to excuse himself out of the fight.

Taking a second or two to think, Vlad looked around the room in hopes for a weapon of some kind. He set his eyes on a pile of books by him. He grabbed a small stack, flew into the air, and proceeded to throw the heavy volumes at the ghost with grunts of exertion.

The Collector managed to dodge the first few, but his luck ran out rather quickly when Danny took back control of his body and rammed his shoulder into the ghost's side, flinging him right into the path of a particularly large hardback book. The novel collided dead on with the Collector's chest, throwing him off his feet.

The ghost let out a choked yelp when he painfully slammed into the floor on his back, once again gasping for breath even though he didn't need to breathe. It had been so long since he'd experienced the sensation of suffocation. It was more than foreign to him at this point.

Prying his eyes open as he coughed heavily, the Collector looked up at Danny. The boy was just about to fire a burst of ectoplasm at him, but he'd hesitated for just a moment. It was a moment too long.

The Collector took full advantage of the boy's hesitation and pointed both hands at him as he blasted him with enough energy to send Danny flying with a shout of pain. He crashed into the bookshelves much like the Collector had at the start of the fight, his head taking the brunt of the hit, and thumped to the floor, unmoving.

Eyes wide with alarm as he mentally begged for Danny to get back up, Vlad hesitated for a moment in indecision. He really wanted to rush over to Danny's side and see if he was okay, but he was afraid the Collector might get away or use him to hurt Danny even more. Nevertheless, Vlad knew he was weakened and wouldn't be able to stop the Collector all by himself. He needed Danny's help if they were going to win.

In the end, Vlad desperately looked around for a better, close-range weapon. He could only hope Danny would pick himself back up eventually. Till then, Vlad knew he would have to keep fighting the Collector.

Finding a full fledged samurai suit of armor, Vlad walked briskly toward it, grabbed the sword in its sheath by the suit's side, and unsheathed it in one, fluid motion. He weighed the old piece of finely crafted and perfectly balanced metal in his hand before turning his sights on the Collector. Advancing toward the ghost with sure, steady steps, the sword's edges burst into life with rosy ectoplasm power.

Just as the Collector was getting to his feet, Vlad suddenly surged forward with a blast of speed. He gripped the hilt of the katana with both hands before swinging it in a sideways arch, aiming for the Collector's exposed chest.

Though he was winded, the ghost was still being empowered by the ring. This allowed him to react faster than he normally would've been able to. It most certainly saved his after-life.

As if he'd sensed Vlad's intentions the moment he picked up the sword, the Collector whipped his hand out from behind his back, bringing along the very book Vlad had used to hit him with seconds ago. Because the volume was so thick, it took the entire impact of the sword, causing the blade to become deeply imbedded into the pages. However, the paper was quickly consumed by Vlad's ectoplasmic fire.

This hardly seemed to daunt the Collector as he shot the shocked looking halfa a sickening grin and whispered through his panting, "I warned you, _Vlad_."

Once again, the ghost raised his hand and fired a point blank ecto-blast into Vlad's chest.

Just as quickly as the Collector had reacted, Vlad leapt backwards and brought up his sword to block the shot. The ray hit the blade dead on but didn't hurt it because of the ectoplasm radiating around the edges. With a controlled flicking motion, Vlad swung the sword off to the side to throw the ray off into some random direction.

Panting heavily, Vlad offered the Collector a snarky grin as he pointed his sword at the ghost and said, "I had fencing lessons all throughout middle and high school. You being such a great Collector and all, I thought you would have known that by now. Guess not."

Eyebrows drawing together, the ghost frowned back at Vlad, slowly circling to the side. He kept his eyes locked on the halfa even as he treaded silently around him. Vlad kept the sword pointed right at him as he followed his movements without even so much as blinking.

Finally, the Collector's nasty smile returned as he said through a throaty chuckle, "You really think you're getting out of here, don't you? You think I am going to let you leave here alive." Lowering his voice as if he was sharing an important secret with Vlad, he murmured, "I can assure you, the only way you will leave is when I _kill_ you. After all, I only need one half-ghost for my display, now don't I?"

Vlad didn't rise to the wordy bait although it was very tempting. Just imagining Danny forced to live in that display case for the rest of his life alone made Vlad's stomach wrench in horror. The Collector's threat made Vlad want to cut the evil ghost into bloody little ribbons, but Vlad somehow held back on his own impulses with a furious scowl.

Gently resting the tip of the katana on the Collector's chest to stop his moving, Vlad growled back at the ghost in distaste, "You could never kill me. I'm your greatest achievement. Admit it. Breaking me was your greatest triumph since creating this museum. Killing me would just be wasting all your hard work."

"Perhaps," the ghost replied languidly, not looking fazed by the sword pressing against his chest in the least. He chuckled mockingly and leaned forward into the blade, just daring Vlad to cut him as he so desperately wanted to as he whispered, "But, with you out of the way, I could have a new project."

The Collector's eyes traveled over to Danny still laying on the floor, though he had begun to groan and shift slightly as consciousness came back to him.

Smirking, the Collector said, "I could have him kneeling at my feet in a matter of days after you are dead. Imagine...how broken his spirit will be with your death weighing so heavily on his conscience. He will watch, of course. Do not worry, I will make it quick...hmhm, for the most part."

Those words did for Vlad. An old anger rose up in the man's chest, boiling and needing to come out. Never would Vlad allow the Collector to crush Danny's spirit, the very thing that gave the teen so much vigorous life and which Vlad took so much hope and aspiration from. Taking that away would be the equivalent of killing the boy.

With a loud, furious battle cry, Vlad drew his sword back before thrusting forward in an attempt to stab the Collector in the stomach.

The ghost's eyes flashed with triumph when Vlad pulled the sword back to strike him. It was just what he'd wanted. The instant the blade was far enough back for him to move, the Collector spun to the side, dodging Vlad's strike just as the blade descended towards his gut.

The fabric of his suit ripped as the sword cut through it, but it only managed to nip his jacket pocket as he continued to move. The Collector snatched the fully charged taser off of the circular desk at his side, kept his momentum going, and ended up behind Vlad as he grabbed the halfa's shoulder with his free hand and shoved the sparking device into his back with the other.

Muscles seizing up in white, hot agony, Vlad let out a grunt of pain as he dropped the sword and froze up because of the volts violently running up and down his body. Squeezing his eyes shut, Vlad almost passed out as the familiar black rings rippled across his body and transformed him into his human form. Too weak to stand now that he was human, Vlad fell to his hands and knees as he rode out the pain.

The Collector only stopped Vlad's pain once he had deemed the man beaten. It took a full thirty seconds for him to come to this conclusion. The ghost pulled the taser away, smiling devilishly down at Vlad's trembling and gasping form. Laughing softly, he tossed the taser back onto the table it had come from as he strolled around Vlad's side.

"What did I tell you about that temper of yours, Vlad?" the Collector questioned with pretend interest. The half-ghost painfully raised his head to look up at him and that was when the ghost delivered a devastating punch to the side of his head and said with a chuckle, "It's going to be the death of you."

The strike sent Vlad straight to his stomach on the floor. The comfort of darkness enticed the man for a few seconds, but he stubbornly clung to the pain to keep himself awake. Struggling for every ragged breath, Vlad squeezed his eyes shut as he not only battled physical pain but emotional pain as well.

None of this was supposed to happen. It had been predicted, but the percent of such a terrible fiasco had been so low and the benefits had outweighed the risk so much that Vlad had foolishly led his friends into a plan that was now blowing up in all their faces. There was no denying the fact that after the museum was burned down and Vlad was killed off, that the power starving Collector would keep his clutches tight around Danny, Melody, and Ryder until they died off too. The prospect almost crippled Vlad right then and there.

Vlad couldn't believe how weak he had allowed himself to become. The festering emotion of frustration rushed through him, pestering the anger that already resided within. Everything was slipping out of his grasp. He wasn't supposed to die! Danny was supposed to fight by his side and share in their ultimate victory at the end! Melody was supposed to see her Matthew once more, and Ryder was supposed to be a father to Jet again! The tragedy of the situation pulled and wrenched at Vlad's gut, forcing him into some kind of action. He couldn't just lay there, waiting for death. Vlad wanted to go down swinging, kicking, and screaming his entire way to the afterlife.

Grunting in pain from the effort, Vlad opened his eyes and blearily looked around a moment for his dropped sword. Upon spotting it nearby, the man reached out for it in high hopes he would be quick enough despite his debilitating state.

His hand hadn't moved more than an inch before the Collector saw what he was trying to do. Returning to the man's side, the ghost didn't hesitate to step down onto Vlad's hand and kick the sword away across the floor. He tutted and shook his head at the halfa as he said, "Still fighting, I see. Don't worry. The pesky notion of fighting till the end won't be a problem for you soon enough."

Before Vlad could comment, the Collector knelt down and wrapped his arm around the man's throat. He pulled the limp half-ghost up to his feet and held him there with an arm coiled around his neck in a tight headlock. To make the situation worse, the ghost pressed the cold barrel of the gun he had gone to retrieve against the side of Vlad's head.

With the pieces all in place, the Collector raised his eyes to the ghost boy who had finally returned to the land of the conscious. He took great pride in the fear that entered the teenager's eyes when he saw the scene before him.

The human form of Danny pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the horrible pounding in his head and the blood dripping down the back of his neck from his collision with the bookcase. Instead, he focused all his attention on the gun pressed cruelly up against Vlad's head. There wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't attack the Collector because he could pull the trigger quicker than he could move to do anything. He had to think.

Trying to keep his erratic breathing steady, Danny whispered, "Don't...don't shoot him, please."

"Oh?" the Collector said, raising a fine eyebrow back at the boy. It was obvious he was enjoying himself too much. "Why should I? What do you have to offer me for his life? Hm?"

Gulping visibly, Danny stared from Vlad's gaze then up to the Collector as he murmured desperately, "I- we- we'll go back to our displays, I promise. Just...just put the gun down, please." Danny held his hands up to show that he was giving up, his eyes pleading with the ghost to understand. "I promise, I won't fight you. I promise."

"No. No, Danny," Vlad said adamantly as he feebly tried to pry the Collector's arm off his neck. "Don't you dare promise him anything! He's just toying with us!"

The Collector tightened his arm around Vlad's neck to shut him up before focusing back on Danny. He chuckled softly as he said, "That's an awfully daring promise, Mr. Fenton. Are you sure that you mean it? There is a person's life at stake here, you understand."

Danny instantly nodded, his eyes remaining locked on the gun. He'd never been more afraid in his entire life. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he fought to stay in control. He knew that Vlad would be angry at him for giving up, but there wasn't another choice. He wasn't going to lose the man. He wouldn't ever let that happen.

Voice shaking, Danny said, "I swear, I won't try anything if you just put the gun down. I'll go right back to the display and...and I-I'll get Melody and Ryder for you too. I promise I will. Just don't hurt Vlad. Please don't hurt him."

The Collector hummed in thought, continuing to smile. Danny's deal was admittedly good. Of course, he had no intentions of following it. Meeting the teen's eyes, the ghost murmured, "I only need one of you for my display, Mr. Fenton. After this act of rebellion...one of you has to die."

The ghost lowered his head to whisper into Vlad's ear, "And it isn't you."

Swiftly raising the gun, the Collector aimed at Danny and fired three consecutive shots into his chest. The shots continued to echo around the room even as the boy's body fell limply to the ground, unmoving once again.

Vlad was too frightened, shocked, and horrified to move or speak. He just stood there staring at Danny's lifeless body as if frozen stiff by the ice, cold hands of grief that had gripped his heart the second his mind had registered the Collector's harrowing words and the gunshots echoed through the room. Then, as disbelief finally dissipated and reality sunk in, Vlad swallowed and shook his head as his chest tightened with emotion and tears pricked his eyes.

"No," Vlad murmured in despair. "No, no, no." Suddenly, he lunged toward Danny's fallen and dead form with an outstretched arm, shouting, "No! _Danny!_" Still caught in the Collector's grip and unable to be by Danny's dying side, Vlad struggled uselessly to free himself as he yelled at the ghost, "Let me go! No! Just let me go!"

After a pause to make sure Danny was truly hit and not going to move again, the Collector released Vlad, saying with a smirk, "As you wish."

Shooting Danny had been his plan all along. Vlad had been right when he'd claimed that the ghost was only toying with them. However, he'd been wrong about who the Collector was toying with. Killing the boy was just insurance to make sure Vlad never fought back against him ever again. And, from what the ghost could already see, it was working swimmingly.

Just as Vlad stumbled forward and knelt down by the boy's bloody body, it disappeared in a poof of green smoke as if it had never been there in the first place. Eyes widening in disbelief, the Collector shook his head, trying to deny what he'd just seen.

"No," he whispered, eyebrows furrowing in denial. That couldn't be right. It was a trick. It had to be.

The Collector turned to the side quickly when he felt someone wrench the pistol from his hand, and his eyes widened further when he saw Danny in ghost form floating in front of him, completely unharmed.

"Somebody said my name," the teen told the ghost with a defiant grin as he destroyed the gun in his hands with well-aimed ecto-blasts. He looked over and winked at Vlad, saying, "Oldest trick in the book."

"No," the Collector denied, shaking his head again. "No, I shot you. I shot you! You're supposed to be dead, you little rat!" Throwing up a hand, the ghost tried to blast Danny with his own ecto-energy, only to find that nothing happened. Shock splaying across his face, the ghost looked down at his hand...only to find his ring missing.

"Looking for this?" Danny questioned, holding up the golden ring for the Collector to see. He slid it into his pocket and added to appease the ghost's confused and flustered expression, "Ryder taught me a few things."

Danny's joking face morphed into a serious frown as he said, "And Vlad taught me a few things too." With that said, the teen threw himself forward, punching the Collector with enough strength to throw him right off his stupefied feet. Letting out a battle yell, Danny went after him, ready and willing to dish out more pain.

As this was happening, Vlad slowly got to his feet, look of astonishment and relief written all over his face. Although he felt a bit duped and emotional because of the most recent circumstances, those feelings didn't last long as Vlad pondered what had happened. In seconds, he put the entire thing together in his head.

Whether Danny had planned this weeks or minutes ago, it didn't matter. Somewhere along the battle, he'd put together that to destroy the Collector they would have to thoroughly trick the ghost. And the best way Danny saw fit was to make Vlad believe the trick too, which would in turn fool the Collector as if he was the domino right beside Vlad's that would fall as Vlad fell. Vlad never would have behaved as he just did if he didn't think Danny or himself was in real trouble, and somehow Danny knew that and the fact that the Collector would never kill Vlad. The reasoning behind it all and the smooth execution was more than just impressive; it was brilliant in Vlad's opinion.

Across the room, the Collector was having a horrible time, to say the least. The ghost stumbled to his feet after receiving one of Danny's more vicious attacks, and he spat glowing, green blood from his mouth as he spun quickly around in search of the furious ghost boy.

Danny found him as he phased through an ornate table with a chess board on it and hit him with simultaneous shots of ectoplasm. Shouting in pain and frustration, the Collector was tossed backwards as if he weighed no more than a piece of paper. He collided heavily with another section of the bookcase, broke a few shelves on impact, and slumped to the floor, wincing as books fell around him.

The Collector looked up through his swollen eyes in time to see Danny coming at him again. He weakly reached out around him, fingers grasping desperately for any weapon of any kind. Without the ring, his strength had been zapped away, allowing him to feel the full force of his weakness and prior injuries. Quite honestly, he was starting to panic. He was so dangerously close to..._losing_: a concept that had never even crossed his mind. And he was losing to Danny, no less. It was incomprehensible.

The ghost let out a gasping sigh when his hand coiled around the handle of an old ghost musket, and he whipped it up to fire a sizzling purple ball of energy at the approaching half-ghost.

Danny saw the attack coming and, instead of dodging, created a curved shield in front of his body. It caught the blast and whipped it back around to fly right back where it had come from.

Eyes wide due to the horrible turn of events, the Collector rolled himself quickly to the side to dodge the blast. It exploded into the place he'd been moments before, taking out the entire section of books in the process. The ghost flipped onto his back to stare at the destruction he had caused, shaking his head in horror. His prized possessions...they could actually be ruined.

Fear spiked through the Collector when he realized that he couldn't stand. His strength was gone. His body ached all over. He could hardly even lift his head up at this point to look around.

The ghost's expression only became more distraught as Danny landed beside him, panting heavily from all of his roiling emotions. He was so relieved, terrified, furious, and upset by all that was happening. He just didn't know what to feel. And he felt horribly guilty for having to trick Vlad like he did, but so happy that it had worked. He was actually winning.

Danny knelt swiftly and grabbed a handful of the Collector's shirt, yanking him up slightly so that he could snarl into his face, tears shining in his green eyes, "You're _never_ hurting anyone ever again!"

The teen plowed his fist into the Collector's face, ignoring his yelp of agony as he punched him again and yelled, "It's over! You can't hurt me or Vlad or Ryder or Melody ever again! You _lose_, Collector!"

Spitting more blood out of the side of his mouth, the Collector whimpered, "Y-you ca-can't do this." For the first time that Danny had ever seen, fear shone in the ghost's eyes as he weakly tried to squirm out of his grasp. He could see it in the ghost's gaze...he knew that he had lost.

Shaking hard, the teen narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the front of the Collector's shirt. He raised his fist, whispering vehemently through gritted teeth, "Yes, I _can_. And you can't stop me or anyone else."

Danny didn't wait any longer as he slammed the strongest punch of his life into the Collector's face. The ghost's head whipped to the side from the blow, his body going limp as his eyes snapped shut. The teen stared down at the Collector's unconscious and beaten face before releasing his shirt and sitting down on the burned remains of what was once a couch, chest rising and falling heavily as tears ran down his cheeks.

He didn't know if he was crying from the utter relief that this never-ending nightmare was finally over or the fact that he'd just unmercifully beaten the Collector to a pulp, but it felt good. It felt okay to cry right now. So that's what he did.

Stumbling haphazardly over fallen mountains of books and priceless objects which were now broken, Vlad picked his way through the catastrophe that now was the Collector's office as he made his way toward Danny. Upon seeing the teen's tears, though, Vlad's grin faded. He paused on top of a pile of books and took a moment to study Danny. For some reason he wanted to remember this moment and all these emotions he felt.

Releasing a steady sigh, the man carefully made his way down over to Danny. He sat down on the edge of the singed couch next to the teen before wrapping his arms around Danny's shoulders and holding him close.

As if in a daze, Danny leaned against Vlad and closed his eyes so that he could stop looking at the Collector. It had taken him a few moments to decipher his feelings, but now he understood exactly what he was feeling. Relief. Just sweet, utter relief. His body was weak with the feeling, but it was good. It was what they'd been working towards for so long. They'd finally done what they needed to do. Now, they could all go home.

The teen released a shuddering sigh, pressing his head against Vlad's shoulder as he mumbled, "I'm sorry I tricked you."

Looking down at the teen in his arms, Vlad let himself express a small smile as he said, "Danny, you are by far the most brash, cocky, and irritating person I have ever met." Hugging him tighter, Vlad said more seriously, "But you are also the most kind, the most brave, and the strongest individual I know. Don't feel guilty for tricking me, Danny. Honestly, I am...I'm so _proud_ of you."

The man's words made Danny tear up even more, and he hugged Vlad tightly, smiling as he murmured with a hitch in his voice, "Thanks, Vlad."

That was probably the nicest thing Vlad had ever said to him, and it meant so much right now. It was just the boost he needed to pull himself together so they could finally get out of this horrible place.

Glancing up at the man, Danny's smile became haggard as he said, "Let's go home."

A/N: After such a long and painful struggle, our little band of off beat heroes finally get to go home! You readers will be able to see that next chapter! Thanks for reading, I'll see you guys next weekend!


	33. Chapter 33 A Toast of a Lifetime

A/N: First of all, I would like to royally apologize for not updating this fan fiction with the finishing wrap up chapter for a full month! ML and I feel completely awful. It's both our faults, but mostly mine, and we apologize to all you wonderful and supportive readers. Just know that a lot of things delayed the both of us, and we're really thankful for all your patience. You guys are awesome! So without saying anymore, here's the final chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only have to say it one more time. ML and I don't own anything Danny Phantom. Everything else is ours.

Previously In The Collector: Lots of things happened. It was the awesome and final takedown of the Collector! Melody and Ryder started the fire, and after a long and grueling battle with their adversary, Danny tricked the Collector before beating the ghost to a pulp. Now we get to flash ahead and peek into the lives of our four freed captives and how they integrate back into their normal lives.

Chapter 33 A Toast of a Lifetime

The apartment was dim, warm, and lonely when Melody used the key she knew was poorly hidden in the mailbox beside the door to let herself in. She had tried knocking, but nobody had answered. Melody feared the worst.

Heart wedged in her throat, the girl timidly looked around the small living room and stuffy kitchen space that greeted her. The furniture was old and beat up, but Melody instantly recognized it because she had helped Matthew pick out and move the scruffy furnishings into the place when he first bought the apartment. That meant he was here.

Sure enough, walking deeper into the room, Melody almost gasped when she found Matthew stretched out on the floor on his back, dead asleep. Two stacks of papers he was grading for the 8th grade science class he was teaching sat beside him, half finished. In his hand he held a paper, behind his ear was an uncapped red pen, and in his mouth was the cap.

Smiling somberly, Melody realized he was just as cute and lovely as she remembered him. She almost didn't want this moment to end. She almost just wanted to remember as she saw him now, walk out the door, and spare herself any heartache. Then again, the rewards to staying and discovering the truth rooted her firmly to the ground. She had to know if he was willing to still love her.

Matthew looked much older than the girl. He was somewhere in his early 30's with a tuff of unkept dark brown hair, a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses that were now askew on his face, a sharp nose and jaw line, and the starting of a scruffy beard.

"The ugly beard is new," Melody said quietly while placing a hand on the side of her face to prevent herself from crying.

As if hearing her, Matthew stirred, slowly waking up as he looked around in a groggy daze while propping himself up on his elbows and taking the cap out of his mouth. Spotting Melody standing nearby, the man froze in surprise. Like a deer in headlights, Melody did the same. This was the moment of truth. Depending on his reaction, Melody would know if he still wanted her or not. She knew him so well, she'd be able to see the truth in his green eyes that now studied her as if she was some glorious, supernatural specimen. Truthfully, he believed he was still fast asleep and dreaming this entire encounter.

Fixing his glasses with one hand, Matthew croaked out hopefully, "M-Mel? Is that...is that really you, Mel?"

All Melody could do was nod. She could feel the sobs fighting and scratching inside her chest, begging to be free. What she hated most was crying like a little girl in from of him. It was so weak and unromantic.

"Melody!" Matthew whispered as he flung himself to his feet and rushed toward her to capture the girl in a tight hug. He was much taller than Melody, but that didn't encumber her from hugging him back with all her strength. She didn't want to let him go. She had lost him once for far too long. Never would she allow that to happen again.

"I searched," Matthew breathed out in wonderment as he gently ran his hands through Melody's short hair. "I searched for you for...for so _damn_ long. I missed you so much, Melody. I can't believe you're back."

There was no anger, yelling, or demanding to know what happened to her from the man. Instead, as if sensing her feelings like he always did so perfectly, Matthew continued to hug her without saying another word. He was going to let her tell him everything on her own time. He understood that she could be a little traumatized. Somehow he just knew exactly what Melody needed, and that thing was him.

The perfectness of it all was what finally cracked the girl. Breaking down into sobs, Melody clung tighter to the man and cried into his shoulder. Matthew looked down at her in sad surprise. For the many years he had known and dated Melody off and on, he had probably only seen her cry two times, and those had only been a few tears shed before she had returned to her Ice Queen status. As he held the girl in his arms, Matthew that whatever happened to Melody had changed her. Despite this scary thought, he was still prepared to stay by her side and help her whenever he could.

"I was so...so s-scared," Melody mumbled through her sobs. "I was scared y-you w-would...leave me. I wouldn't...I wouldn't blame you, but I was so scared!"

"Oh, Mel, it's okay, baby," Matthew said as he pulled away slightly. He held the girl's face in both his hands, using his thumbs to brush away the tears on her cheeks as she gave some soft sniffs. Resting his forehead on hers to get her attention, he assured her, "I told you that night that I would not leave you. I meant that. You promised the same, and I knew you meant that despite your past."

Looking up into his eyes, Melody said with a shuddering sigh, "Jeez, you better not be saying that just to woo me over now only to dump me later on."

"I'm not."

"Prove it, mister."

"I can pinky promise you."

Giggling at the silly notion, Melody raised her pinky as Matthew did the same. As she brushed more tears out of her eyes with her free hand, they linked fingers for a moment. Matthew chuckled as the girl returned to hugging him, running his hands through Melody's hair again.

"It's actually really cute," he said suddenly.

Pulling away to look up at him curiously, Melody asked, "What is?"

"Your hair. It's adorable! Although I prefer long hair like you used to have it, I think I love this style just as much as the old one. Why did you cut it, though? I thought you liked it long too."

"I-I didn't-. Someone else cut it," Melody answered, looking off to the side as the miserable memory of the Collector cutting her hair returned to her.

Sensing her shift, Matthew quickly said to pull her back to him, "Well, I love it, Mel. Long hair, short hair; it doesn't matter. You're too sexy to let your hair stop you from looking awesome."

Eyes returning to Matthew's face, Melody suddenly broke out into a familiar cold smirk as she said, "Dork, you are such a brown-noser." Before Matthew could comment, she leaned closer to him so that their faces were less than an inch away and said, "But I love that about you, cheese ball." She hesitated before she whispered very seriously, "I love you, Matthew."

"I love you too," Matthew whispered back.

Those words exchanged, the two shared a kiss.

-Ryder-

He'd never really been a fan of school. Even when he was a little kid, Ryder could remember sitting at his desk, doodling pictures onto the top of his desk, and staring woefully up at the clock waiting for the school bell to ring. It wasn't that he'd disliked school. It'd actually been pretty fun: starting food fights, switching peoples' lunches during playtime, and, of course, nap time.

However, as Ryder lingered on the sidewalk outside of Monterey Elementary School, he was reminded of all those years ago when he'd been in school. He knew that the 3 o'clock bell was close to ringing, though he'd lost his watch at some point after getting out of the "Ghost Zone" and eventually making his way back home to New York City. He was actually, almost positive that he'd pawned it off to get food, but the past couple hours were kinda fuzzy.

If someone asked him the exact path he'd taken to get from Amity Park to New York, he'd probably just stare blankly back at them. But that was okay because he was waiting for his son, and he had a delicious foot-long hot dog to keep him busy. However, Ryder knew this would only keep him preoccupied from waiting as long as it would take him to eat it. And, considering he'd been eating mush for the past four months, he knew that wouldn't take very long.

In mid-bite, Ryder paused as he felt something cold prodding into his lower back. Swallowing the food he was already chewing, the thief muttered, "My 'I'm-about-to-get-mugged' senses are tingling."

"What are you _doing_ here?" a soft, furious, Latin voice hissed into his ear in response. It was a voice he'd become very familiar with over the past few years. The accent was thick but just as lovely as he remembered it being.

Nearly dropping his hotdog out of surprise, Ryder whispered, "Espera-"

"Shut up!" the woman snapped back at him, shoving what he knew was a gun deeper into his back to keep him quiet. Though he wanted to turn around to look at her, he stayed still. He'd learned that it was generally best not to argue with Esperanza when she was angry...and had a gun.

"I asked you what you were doing here," Esperanza said slowly, her breathing sounding very loud to Ryder for some reason. He wondered if she'd just ran here or something.

"I'm here to pick up my son from school," Ryder answered just as slowly. He kept his eyes locked straight ahead as he added, "Like I do everyday."

"No, you don't!" Esperanza corrected him as she grabbed him by the arm and forcefully turned him around to look at her. She was just as tall as he was and perfectly matched the phrase: "tall, dark, and beautiful." Ryder wasn't sure if she was from Venezuela or Brazil or Spain, but he knew she was Latin due to her dark complexion, and the accent, of course.

As Ryder stared back into Esperanza's brown eyes, he couldn't help but wince at her fierce expression. He'd seen it a few times before...mostly back when she'd been trying to kill him.

Shoving an open palm into his chest, Esperanza growled, "_I_ do. _I_ pick him up from school. And do you know why?"

"Well, I could probably gue-"

"Because you aren't here!" the woman interrupted him as she shoved him again with a good amount of force. "You've been gone for months! Months, Ryder!"

"I know," Ryder said, rubbing a hand against his sore chest. He looked down at his dropped hotdog with a sad expression before sighing and lifting his eyes back up to meet Esperanza's. "But I'm back now, and I'm not gonna leave again."

The pair locked eyes for a long time. Ryder stayed silent as he tried to decipher the look on Esperanza's face. He nearly yelped in shock and jumped away from her when he saw tears, actual _tears_, shining in the woman's eyes. He had never seen Esperanza cry. Not once. Ever. Maybe she'd stubbed or toe when she was -

"I thought you were dead," Esperanza whispered, her voice remaining steady as ever even as she continued to stare right back into Ryder's eyes. "Jet...I thought I would have to take care of him. I thought I'd never see you again, Ryder."

Gulping down his surprise, Ryder said quietly and sincerely, "I'm never gonna leave you guys, Espy."

Esperanza remained silent for a moment before she shot out a hand, grabbed a fistful of the front of Ryder's shirt, and pulled him towards her so that she could kiss him.

Nobody was more shocked than Ryder was as he stood rigidly still while Esperanza kissed him. After a moment of pure shock, he loosened up and gingerly kissed her back. He wasn't going to question such a good thing happening to him. They'd never kissed before, but he had entertained the idea of him and Esperanza getting together many times before. Maybe she was finally coming around.

Esperanza pulled back slightly, but not far, and looked right into his eyes. "Don't you ever leave us like that again, Ryder," she told him angrily. "Do you hear me?"

Ryder nodded back at her, still dazed from what she'd just done. He swallowed and said breathlessly, "Loud and clear, Espy." He glanced down for a moment before looking back at her and asking, "So are you, like, into me or somethi-"

"Don't push your luck, Ryder," Esperanza said, letting go of his shirt and shoving him back slightly as she turned to face the school. However, Ryder could see that she was smiling a little bit. And a small smile from Esperanza meant a lot more than it did for anyone else.

Grinning widely, Ryder looked back at the school just as he heard the bell ring. Almost instantaneously, the front doors were flung open as a wave of kids poured outside. Ryder peered over the youngsters heads, searching the sea of faces for the one that mattered to him the most.

The thief's heart nearly stopped in his chest when he saw a small, bouncy afro scooting to the edge of the crowd as it made its way towards them. The frizzy ball of hair quickly took on a face with pair of adorable hazel eyes, a smile missing a few teeth, and a short body clad in jeans, a t-shirt, and light up Spider-Man shoes.

Ryder's eyes connected with Jet's and vice versa. The little boy froze in place, the smile dissolving from his face as his eyes widened. He almost dropped his Power Ranger lunchbox as he stared up at his father in utter disbelief. His lips trembled slightly, forming the word, "Dad?"

Ryder felt tears rise in his eyes as his throat clenched up. His boy looked just the same as he had four months ago. Maybe he'd somehow managed to get cuter than before, but that was it. Taking trembling steps forward, the thief held his arms out to Jet, saying the boy's name under his breath. He almost couldn't believe that Jet was right there. His son was so close.

As if a switch had been flicked, Jet's expression of shock disappeared as his eyes lit up with unimaginable amounts of joy. "Dad!" Jet yelled, flinging his prized lunchbox away as he rushed forward. "Dad, dad, dad!"

Ryder dropped to his knees just in time for his little boy to crash into his chest and wrap his arms tightly around his neck. Jet continued to say his name over and over again as Ryder hugged the kid close to him, closing his eyes as tears ran down his cheeks.

He held the back of Jet's head, whispering over the boy's own tears, "I'm here, Jet. I'm here."

Jet leaned backwards so that he could look into his father's face, sniffing loudly. He reached up to touch Ryder's face with both hands as if to make sure that he was real. "Dad," the boy said, his voice trembling, "are you really here?"

Reaching up to hold Jet's tiny hands against his cheeks, Ryder nodded slowly, smiling through the tears in his eyes. "Yeah," he croaked, throat clenching up all over again. "Yeah, I'm here, Jet. It's me, squirt."

Jet's green eyes filled with even more tears as he buried his face in his father's chest and hugged him all over again. "I m-missed you, daddy," the boy sobbed as Ryder wrapped his arms around his back and rocked him gently.

"Shh," Ryder softly told Jet, running his hand down the back of the boy's head to calm him. "Shh, buddy. I'm here. I'm not going away again, Jet. I'm not gonna leave you."

Ryder looked up when he felt a hand touch his shoulder and saw Esperanza smiling softly down at him again. The thief's chest swelled with happiness and more tears came to his eyes. This was his family. After so many months of missing them, he was finally back. He could finally be with them all that he wanted.

He closed his eyes, sending up a silent prayer of thanks. His past had been hard, but every moment was worth it to have the people in his life that he could call friends and family. Ryder would go through everything again if it meant he'd end up right here with these two people to call his loved ones.

Smiling a little, Ryder kissed the top of Jet's head and said through a tearful chuckle, "Boy, do I have a story for you guys."

-Vlad-

Letting the front door swing open, Vlad stood where he was on the threshold of his mansion as if he was timid about going inside the large, empty house. Peering tiredly inside, Vlad noticed that the maids had kept the house and its contents perfectly clean and spotless without him just like the gardeners had kept up the manicured shrubs and lawn that lead up to the house outside in pristine condition. Nothing had changed. His absence hadn't accounted for anything.

It was almost unfair. Vlad knew he had completely transformed everything in him over the past few months, yet his home had stayed resolutely the same: cold, lonely, dark, and towering.

Giving one last glance at the outside of his house, Vlad ventured silently inside and closed the door behind him. Standing in the middle of his foyer, the man slide his hands into his pockets and stood still again as his mind slipped into pondering and reflection.

After working so hard to free himself for many months, Vlad suddenly realized he didn't know what to do next. He was still in a state of disbelief, if he had to be honest with himself. Although he wasn't necessarily happy or content, it wasn't as if he was sad and depressed. He felt as if he was in a strange limbo between these two feelings, caught in an uncertain state that was waiting to be resolved.

Like a fantasizing child, Vlad thought that if he fell asleep that he would somehow wake up back in the museum, where fear, anxiety, and the Collector ruled over him. Unlike Danny, Vlad still hadn't felt the sweet taste of relief wash over him. He knew at some point his emotions would catch up with reality, but until then he would fight the numbness of sleep depravation pressing upon his mind and busy himself with something more enticing.

Finally, with a determined smile, Vlad decided that if he was going to be stuck in this emotional funk that he was going to distract himself mentally until it eventually went away.

That established, the man pushed up his sleeves and headed for his lab underground. Although he was exhausted physically, the man's mind was refined and sharper than it had ever been. It thirsted desperately for activity, and Vlad was going to quench that thirst by throwing himself into working on his inventions.

One look at his lab, though, almost deterred the man. The bland, mechanical feel of the room reminded Vlad too much of the main room in the museum he'd been forced to live in for far too long. If he added a picnic table, it could have been complete. With a thin frown, Vlad observed the room and thought through his block.

"Well, this has to change," he murmured to himself.

Gathering as much equipment as he could hold, Vlad moved all that he needed up out of the lab and into the library upstairs. He went back down, snatched up more things, and returned to the library to only repeat the process. After many trips back and forth and up and down, it was well into the afternoon, half his lab was now moved to the bright and welcome library, and Vlad was sweating but smiling at the hard effort.

Once Vlad deemed that he had enough tools and equipment to help him build the things he wanted to in the environment he liked best, the man let his creativity and scientific knowledge get to work. It was one of the most liberating experiences that Vlad had ever felt as he spent hour after hour toiling happily on different inventions. He let himself forget everything: the misery of the past few months of captivity, his drastic character change, all the pain the Collector had caused, his friends who were finally spending time with their loved ones, his overwhelming guilt, what he needed to get done as a mayor now that he had returned to Amity, and his astute feeling of loneliness.

Not until the sun had long gone down, the moon and stars came up, and the early morning hours of darkness descended upon the mansion did Vlad pry himself away from his work. By this time, Vlad was covered with grease, smears of ectoplasm goo, sweat, and any other regular grit that accompanied a truly dedicated ghost gadget inventor. The smell and feeling reminded Vlad of his old college days when he would build and create for endless hours with his friends, when only Jack's nagging stomach would alert the group that it was probably time to pack things up for the night and find a late night burger joint for the big, starving man.

For the first time since the accident that changed his life, Vlad's memory of those times weren't dark and resentful. There was still a bitter sweet residue on them, but that was better than the usual sadness or anger. After all, they were memories of a fond time. Looking around at all his recent work that day, Vlad hoped he would make more like those in the coming years.

Listening to his now very loud and demanding stomach, Vlad went to the kitchen, made himself a simple sandwich, grabbed a can of soda out of the fridge, and returned to the library. He sat down on one of the couches in the room that looked out over his half finished inventions that looked like a haphazard yet glorious mess of mechanical parts.

With dirty hands and an absent mind, Vlad ate his sandwich and downed his soda. Only until the meal was gone and sat snuggled away in his stomach did Vlad release a shuddering sigh and pulled his mind back to reality. His mind perceived his situation as if it was crystal clear now. No more was he driven by money, status, and power which brought about anger and bitterness. No. He had a second chance to make a better life for himself full of love and prosperity. The bond of darkness over Vlad's heart had been broken. He was tied to it no more.

A sad smile reached Vlad's lips as he felt the long awaited for wave of relief crash over his body. He was free. He was _truly_ free.

The smile still on Vlad's face, he uttered one last, long sigh as if in submission to his feelings, and relaxed in his seat while closing his weary eyes. The fear and worry was washed away for one wonderful moment. In merely seconds Vlad feel into a deep, fulfilled sleep.

-Danny-

The first thing Danny had done when their group finally parted ways after months of living together was transform into his ghost half and go for a flight. It'd been so long since he'd been able to truly let go. Let go of all his fears of the Collector's punishments, the safety of his friends or to stop worrying about what his friends and family were thinking about while he was gone.

With the wind whipping through his hair and the sun beating down on him, all of his problems went away. In that moment, he felt more free than he had ever before.

The teen looked down on his town, a true smile blooming to his face at the familiarity of all of it. Everything was the same as when he'd left. For some reason, in the museum, he'd always been terrified that something awful would happen to Amity Park while he was gone. But, now, when he could see it from above like he always had in the past, he knew there'd been no reason to worry.

Danny turned in the air, aiming himself towards Casper High. School had already begun. He'd missed his entire summer while being trapped in the Ghost Zone, but, for some reason, Danny knew he wouldn't trade the experience for anything else in the world.

His worst enemy wasn't his worst enemy anymore. Not only had he gained two amazing life-long friends, he'd also gained someone he knew that he could trust and rely on whenever he needed. Danny knew that the bond he'd made with those three people would never diminish as long as they all lived. He believed it deep in his gut, and his gut was rarely wrong.

Setting his face in a determined frown, Danny changed direction again, flying straight for his home now. He'd been indecisive on who he'd wanted to visit first, but, in the end, it was no contest. He missed his family more than he'd ever thought he would.

As Danny traveled speedily towards Fenton Works, he couldn't help but let his mind drift back to the past few months and, most importantly, their escape from the museum. Their group had won. They'd beaten the Collector with all the odds stacked against them. And, not only had they won, they'd completely and utterly destroyed the Collector once and for all.

Danny had seen the ghost's face when he realized his defeat. He knew the Collector could no longer even call himself the Collector...or the Curator, for that matter. With the museum nothing but a pile of ash, the ghost had nothing to curate.

The boy knew that months ago, he would've felt slight sympathy for the ghost, even after all he'd done. But Vlad wasn't the only one who had changed. Danny knew he was different. Not only was he stronger with his ghost abilities, he felt all around stronger. His stay in the museum had only strengthened his beliefs and his morals. He believed even more than before that you could never give up when times got tough.

Danny smiled and shook his head at his wandering thoughts. Even in his head, he still sounded like the cheesy, overdramatic superhero that he was. And, quite frankly, he was more than okay with that.

Dropping swiftly through the air once he had spotted his oddly made but endearing home, Danny landed on the sidewalk outside Fenton Works and quickly transformed back into his human half. He took a moment to let out a tense sigh and run his hands through his hair. He was very thankful that most of it had grown back. He didn't look like he'd run away to join the army so much anymore.

Squaring his shoulders, Danny marched up the steps to his house, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He wasn't nervous. He thought that he was just anxious to finally see his family and, maybe, a bit worried by how they would respond. He truly hoped they wouldn't be mad at him for being gone so long.

The teen paused on his doorstep, raising a hand to open the door. His hand stopped inches away from the doorknob as he reconsidered just walking in. Danny bit down on his bottom lip and rang the doorbell instead. For some reason, he felt a bit awkward about just walking into his house without being invited in.

Maybe it was because he hadn't actually seen a real house in four months or so.

Danny jolted himself out of his anxious thoughts when the door swung open. He quickly raised his eyes, freezing on the spot when his gaze connected with his mom's.

Maddie didn't move either as her eyes locked onto her son. She didn't even appear to be breathing as she brought a hand up to cover her gaping mouth. "Danny?" she whispered around her hand, her voice shaking terribly.

The boy smiled sadly. He could already feel the burn of tears building in his eyes as emotions rose up inside him at just looking at his mom. He quickly nodded, saying, "Y-yeah...it's me, mom."

Tears rose up in Maddie's eyes when Danny spoke, and she lowered her hand, smiling right back at her boy. Before Danny even knew what had happened, his mom had jumped forward and pulled him into a crushing hug. She was crying as she ran her hands through his short, spiky hair and called over her shoulder, "Jack! Jazz! Danny's here! Danny's home!"

"Danny-boy?" came Jack's immediate, shouted reply from somewhere back inside the house. Moment later, his pounding footsteps were heard as he came barreling out onto the stoop. The large man hesitated for only a brief second before he too wrapped his arms around both his son and his wife, hugging them tightly as he said, "Oh, Danny. I can't believe this. You're home, Danny-boy. You're actually home."

Though Danny was being slowly crushed to death, he still managed to croak out through his happy tears, "Yeah, dad. Sorry it took me so long."

Before he could say more, another voice yelled from behind the massive group hug, "Danny?"

The teen instantly recognized the scream as Jazz's right before he felt his sister throw herself into the Fenton Family Hug-a-palooza. Danny couldn't even decipher the amazed exclamations of his mom, dad, and sister, but he could feel their worry and fear leaking away as they held him in their arms.

He knew they wouldn't have to worry for his safety anymore. That thought made his smile grow as he wrapped his arms around his mom's waist and hugged her back as strongly as he could. There'd been a time when he couldn't stand his family's hugs, but, now, he couldn't be happier to receive one.

Danny also knew he had to visit Sam and Tucker immediately after this, and the thought only filled him with more joy. He couldn't wait to see them and be able to tell them all that had happened. But, for now, his love and attention were meant for only his family. And they deserved every moment of it.

-One Week Later-

Danny couldn't help but feel a little nervous as he strode up the long, extravagant driveway that led up to Vlad's mansion. He figured it was just lingering feelings of anxiousness from back before the museum. Back then, he'd dreaded the sight of any house that even somewhat resembled a place that looked like Vlad's because it reminded him of their feud.

He also knew he was a little worried about Vlad himself. They hadn't spoken since they'd gotten back home and parted ways, and Danny couldn't help but think that, maybe, the man didn't want to talk to him. Maybe Vlad just wanted to be alone after everything that had happened.

A part of the teen knew that that couldn't possibly be true, but, a lot like Vlad, he worried. He knew he had to trust that Vlad wanted to stay friends just as much as he did.

Letting out a quiet breath as he reached the mansion's massive entryway, Danny hesitated for only a moment longer before reaching out and pressing the doorbell. He wasn't about to walk in uninvited.

After about a minute or two, the door finally opened and a middle aged lady with blonde hair stuck her head out with a scowl. She wore a regular pink hired maid uniform with a stitched on name tag that read Jessie. Looking down as she smacked her gum in an ostentatious manner, the lady asked Danny skeptically, "Who are you?"

Danny blinked in momentary surprise as he looked back up at the lady. Honestly, he hadn't expected this when he knocked on the door, but, now that he thought about it, he probably should have. Vlad was rich, after all. He guessed that it was normal for rich people to have maids and stuff.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Danny said slowly, "Um...Danny. Danny Fenton. I'm, uh, I'm here to talk to Vlad. Is he...around?"

As soon as she heard his name, the lady relaxed and swung the door wide open. "Danny Fenton? Yeah, come on in, kid," she said while waving him through. "Mr. Masters told me you'd might show up randomly." Giving him a degrading grin, she chuckled with her hands on her hips, "Didn't think you'd be so short, though."

Once Danny had stepped inside the mansion, he instantly saw how drastic the insides had changed compared to the outside. Although all the usual expensive furniture remained, it definitely wasn't as tidy as it used to be, as flat surfaces were covered with bits and pieces of metal, wiring, tools, and paper. The more he looked around, the more Danny noticed the big, metal parts of equipment and half done inventions. It almost reminded him of his parents' garage back home with all the piles of useless ghost junk lying around. The only difference was that all the junk here was being used for one thing or another.

Jessie led the teen through the building as if she owned the place, saying knowingly over her shoulder to Danny while still smacking her gum, "As you can see, this place is a mess despite all my best efforts. None of this is my fault, okay? This is all Mr. Masters' idea. Not mine. I don't know what happened to that man while he was gone for so long, but he's totally weird now. Don't tell him I said that, okay?

"Anyways, he turns this place into a mad scientist's house the second he gets back and then tells me and my crew not to touch anything. Yeah, right. Like I'll be able to dust with some laser-zapping gadget sitting on the mantle piece! Oh, and get this. He still wants us to clean the place even with all his crap lying around. I don't know what's junk and what he wants to keep. He's out in some la la land, for all I know. Although he did give us all a raise. That was nice. So he can't be all that bad."

Stopping at the entrance to the library where the main hubbub of inventions sat, Jessie muttered, "Still, it's just creepy." Nodding her head toward the open room, she told Danny, "He's in there somewhere. Have fun, kid."

"Um...thanks," Danny answered quietly, still lost in a daze after seeing the drastic changes to Vlad's home. Sure, he hadn't been inside it very many times before, but this was just bizarre. Everything was totally different and, according to this lady, so was Vlad.

The boy gave Jessie a timid smile before pushing the door of the library open and peeking his head inside. He was still a bit timid about actually venturing too far into the room considering how weirdly crowded with junk it was.

"Hey, Vlad?" Danny called uncertainly, stepping completely into the room with an eyebrow raised slightly. This was all just so weird. Vlad's house looked a lot like his own house now. He lingered by the door as he added with a small smirk, "Did you hit your head or something this time, fruitloop?"

From his position on his back underneath a bigger and more updated version of a ghost portal he was currently working on, Vlad rolled his eyes. With a smile in his voice, Vlad called over, "I'm over here, Danny. Don't worry. There was no cranial damage this time."

Following the sound of Vlad's voice, Danny picked his way across the room until he reached Vlad's side. He took a second to look around in awe, shake his head, and focus back on Vlad as he said with a grin, "That's debatable."

He examined the current invention Vlad was working on and tilted his head a bit to the side. "Is this what you've been doing for the past week, you weirdo?" Danny teasingly asked.

Pushing himself out from under the portal's base on a flatbed roller, Vlad shot Danny an undaunted smirk. Sitting up, the man grabbed a rag to clean his greasy hands as he told Danny, "Not this entire week, per se, but it has taken up a lot of my time. I was going to design the ghost portal so that any ghost can go through it from this side, but only ones with certain ectoplasm signatures can come through from the Ghost Zone."

Standing up, the man stretched a little as he said, "Anyways, you didn't come to hear me ramble on like your parents I'm sure do. What brings you by today, Danny?"

The teen couldn't help but give the ghost portal another curious glance before bringing his full attention back to Vlad. He knew the man had changed because of the museum, but this was just way too weird. He looked like a totally different person right now. It was a little hard to comprehend.

Brining his head back into the game, Danny sent Vlad a grin. "You're coming to dinner at my place," he told the man confidently, his voice holding zero hesitation. He obviously didn't even think the man would try to object. "Y'know, like, a congratulatory feast thing."

Danny pointed at Vlad as he added, "Don't think you're getting out of it, either. 'Cause you're not."

Vlad gave Danny a half-hearted glare. Although he enjoyed the prospect of celebrating their freedom and doing that with Danny, the man was wary about having to meet up with Danny's parents and friends after his moral transformation. Of course Danny knew and had seen first hand Vlad's change, none of the others had. They would be more than suspicious of him, and Vlad knew he'd have to be on his best behavior in an attempt to win them over. He could tell already it was going to be one whole night of trying to please everyone and not be offended by glares and more. It would be awkward and uncomfortable on more than just his part, to say the least, and Vlad wasn't in the mood to partake in that.

Inclined to or not, one look at Danny told Vlad that he was going to have a harder time arguing than actually going. Still, it wasn't like the man to give up so easily on his stubborn nature. Giving in too easily wasn't exactly an option.

"You sound awfully sure about this," Vlad ventured out with a wry smile.

"Of course I'm sure," Danny answered, pinning Vlad with his own grin. The teen was more than confident that he could at least get the man to the front door. That was all that really mattered. He put his hands on his hips and steadily stated, "You're going and that's final. I don't care if I have to drag you to the door, you are totally going."

Danny's big smile delved down into a smirk as he said, "If it comes down to it, I'm pretty sure I can kick your butt before I drag you to the party. But we don't have to go that far, right?"

Putting his hands on his hips, Vlad said matter-of-factly, "We might have to, with that kind of insolent talk. Who was it who trained you for three whole weeks? Yes. That would be me. Therefore, you could by no means 'kick my butt,' thank you very much."

Not daunted in the least, Danny matched Vlad's posture and said with his grin still lingering on his features, "Who was it that went all crazy butt-kicking machine on the Collector? Yeah, that was me. You don't wanna set me off, Vlad. It gets ugly."

"I'm afraid you're only proving my point, my boy," Vlad said with a laugh. "Might want to check the logic to your argument one more time. But," Vlad said while raising a finger as if in thought, "speaking of that battle, I was going to give you something." The man looked around the room, mumbling under his breath, "If I could only remember where I put it."

Moving with sure steps, the man started to pick his way through the equipment in the room as he went on the hunt. Musing aloud as he searched, he murmured, "When did I become so messy?"

"Probably about the same time you turned your house into a yard sale for ghost hunters," Danny piped up, following behind Vlad with an innocent smile. The only reason he was following Vlad was because he was scared that if he lost sight of the man in the room, he'd never see him again. With all this junk heaped into piles, there was an actual possibility of that happening.

Smile widening, Danny asked, sounding more eager than he probably realized, "Is it a present?"

Though he was fifteen now, he still got extremely excited about getting presents. He had no idea why.

With a little, unseen grimace, Vlad answered, "Not...exactly."

After a few more seconds, Vlad spotted what he was looking for. The now perfectly shaped sphere of metal was under a pile of notes. Brushing the papers away, Vlad picked up the orb that was now a little bit bigger than his hand but still sat lightly in his palm and checked a small digital screen on the side.

Smiling slightly, he turned back around toward Danny and held the orb up for the teen to see. "It's Ptolemy," Vlad explained. "I moved him to a bigger, better orb, but I'm afraid being confined in any small space can give your essence more than just a cramp. I would like it if you took him, you being the responsible superhero and all."

Danny's smile disappeared about as quickly as it had appeared. He stared down at the orb, unwanted memories coming to mind. Sure, he'd joked about the final battle with the Collector moments ago, but that didn't mean he actually wanted to think about it seriously.

Raising his eyes to meet Vlad's, Danny shook his head and held his hands up. Honestly, he wanted nothing to do with Ptolemy, or anything else that would remind him of the museum.

"What am I gonna do with him?" Danny asked, continuing to shake his head. He knew if he was given the orb, then all of responsibility for the deranged ghost would fall onto his shoulders. He wasn't sure how to handle that. "I can't...I can't take care of that little jerk."

Tight frown on his lips, Vlad looked off to the side in thought. Like Danny, he didn't want to be responsible for Ptolemy and his power. The main reason behind Vlad wanting to give the orb to Danny in the first place was because Vlad didn't want to become tempted to use the ghost for his own gain in the future. What if Vlad ever relapsed into his old self? What would stop him from using Ptolemy then? He felt it wiser for Danny to take the ghost and keep it out of reach, but if Danny was unwilling, what else could Vlad do?

Returning his eyes back to Danny, Vlad said with a helpless shrug, "I'm not sure if it's wise if I keep it, Danny. That is all I can say."

Vlad didn't have to say any more for Danny to instantly understand what the man meant. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his feet, unsure of just what to say. He knew exactly why Vlad wanted Ptolemy out of his hands, but Danny still wasn't confident in his ability to take care of the ghost.

What if he let Ptolemy out to stretch his legs and he somehow got away? Danny didn't want to be responsible for losing the ghost that was partly responsible for the torture they'd all gone through. However, Danny knew that keeping the orb would make Vlad feel better so...there really wasn't a choice.

Sighing and shaking his head, Danny reached out and took the orb from Vlad's hands as he said, "Fine, I'll keep it." He glanced down at the orb for a moment before looking right back at Vlad and stating firmly, "But I'm not doing this because I think it's safer to keep Ptolemy away from you. I trust you, Vlad. I know you're not going back to what you used to be. And if you ever ask me where I'm keeping this stupid thing in the future...I'm gonna tell you."

Leaning back as he folded his arms across his chest, Vlad grumbled, "Well, you shouldn't."

Danny arched an eyebrow, asking skeptically, "And why not exactly?" He rolled his eyes as he added sarcastically, "Because you're gonna 'turn evil' on me or something? Yeah right, Vlad."

"It would simply be wise not to tell anyone, including me, where you put it," Vlad advised patiently. "I'll tell you now that once the rest of the Ghost Zone figures out the museum has been burned down and the Collector's power source is gone and taken to the humans world, there will be some ghosts who will come looking for Ptolemy. Therefore, it would be best if only one person knew the orb's location."

"Fine, whatever," Danny agreed, rolling his eyes again at how serious Vlad was being. He didn't think that was his biggest problem to worry about when it came down to Ptolemy, but he'd just go along with it to appease the man. Vlad liked to worry, after all.

"I'll stick it in the safe I have built into the wall behind my dresser first thing when I get home," he promised Vlad with a smirk. Focusing back on his present task, Danny said, "So can we go now? You're gonna be late to your own party."

"My_own_ party?" Vlad questioned, trying not to sound too alarmed. Suspicion finally made it's way into Vlad, and suddenly the man could see that Danny was hiding something. Whatever it was, Vlad instantly deemed it unpleasant. "Now, you told me this was merely a celebration. You did not say anything about this being a party about me."

Narrowing his eyes as he leaned down to scrutinize Danny closer, Vlad asked dubiously, "What are you hiding?"

"Um..." Danny grimaced a little as he looked back up at Vlad. _Crap_, he thought to himself with an internal growl of frustration. _Totally__busted.__No,__okay,__just__be__cool,__be__cool.__You__can__do__this_.

"Uh...I'm hiding...this orb!" the teen exclaimed, holding the device up just in case Vlad hadn't been able to see it before when he gave it to him. "Obviously, I'm hiding this orb and that's why we need to get back to my house now. Duh, Vlad."

Danny quickly turned to head back towards the door (and escape Vlad's knowing gaze) as he said, "Now stop wasting time just 'cause you wanna stay here and be a recluse."

With a snide smile, Vlad nodded as he watched Danny try to leave yet failing at the task as he practically stumbled in his guilty haste over every object that stood in his path. It was all too obvious now. Danny had always been such a bad liar. Now all Vlad had to do was squeeze the truth out of him.

Rolling his eyes, Vlad set off after the teen, calling, "Hey! What kind of horrendous excuse was that? I thought I taught you better. I know you're lying about something." Surging ahead, Vlad nimbly cut the teen off before he could get out of the library. Backing up so Danny didn't slam right into him, Vlad lightly placed a hand on Danny's chest while saying uncompromisingly, "I'm telling you now that I'm not going anywhere until you give me the truth, Daniel. Understand? None of your cute, little surprises ever end well for me."

Danny's grimace at hearing his full name was quickly replaced by a stubborn expression as he squared his shoulders. He wasn't about to be beaten so easily. Even if he was the worst liar ever, he could pull this off.

"Okay, name one time one of my surprises ended badly for you," the teen demanded, giving an offended huff as he did. He was mostly hoping to distract Vlad long enough for him to think of something clever.

"Oh, you're already getting into the distraction technique," Vlad said with a mean smile. "You must be floundering. Let's stay on topic, shall we? I'll answer your question as soon as you answer mine first. What are you hiding?"

Scowling back up at Vlad with narrowed eyes, Danny grumbled, "Nothing. It's just dinner, okay? I didn't mean that it was _your_ party, I just meant that it's important that you're there. Everyone wants to see you. It's not like that's a big secret. Stop being so paranoid, Vlad."

"Your father might be excited to see me. That much I believe," Vlad said, trying to remain firm. Somehow this always proved difficult when he butted heads with Danny. "I'm not so sure about the rest of the friends and family. You do understand that this encounter with all of them will be incredibly uncomfortable, correct?"

Of course, Danny knew this already. He'd been sure to explain to Sam and Tuck that Vlad had changed for the better, but even his closet friends didn't believe him. He knew that if it would take them a while to come around, then it would take his family even longer to realize the same thing.

That was why Danny wasn't going to have Vlad confront his friends and family just yet. Unfortunately for Vlad, he didn't know that.

Giving Vlad a reassuring smile, Danny said, "Vlad, don't worry. I promise everything's gonna be fine. It won't be awkward. You're gonna have fun. Just trust me, okay?"

Vlad was silent for a moment, looking down at Danny with a softening expression. Then, as if a switch had been flicked, the man shook his head and stepped away. "No. Nope," he said stubbornly. "I can't believe I almost fell for that."

Grinning in annoyance, Vlad leaned down so that he was eye level with Danny as he told him, "It's not fair. With an innocent face like yours, anyone could believe you with that endearing look you give. Enjoy it while you still have it, boy, but I'm not buying it. What are you _really_ up to?"

"Ug, _Vlad_," Danny growled in frustration. He couldn't take this any longer. Sure, he'd been the one voted most likely to get Vlad out of the house, but this was just ridiculous. The man was too stubborn and paranoid for his own good. At this rate, they'd die of old age while everyone was waiting for them.

Patience quickly snapping like a small, frail twig, Danny threw one hand in the air while pointing the other right in Vlad's face and shouting, "Just go open the front door!" He paused for a moment, glaring right back into Vlad's eyes as he added sternly,

"I mean it!"

All Vlad could do at first was blink in surprise. He'd expected more smooth talk from the kid, not a snapping of patience. Usually it was the other way around. In a way, it was kind of comical, and Vlad had to bite back a laugh at the look of pure seriousness on Danny's face that really shouldn't have belonged there.

"You promise to tell me what you're up to when we get to the front door?" Vlad asked playfully. He wondered how far he could push the boy now.

"Yes!" Danny snapped back, lowering his arms as he clenched his hands around the orb to keep himself from punching Vlad. He just wanted the stupid jerk to have a good time, and Vlad was making that feat extremely difficult! It was more than frustrating!

"Look, I'll show you how to do it," the teen growled, reaching out to grab Vlad's sleeve as he strode past the man and pulled him purposefully towards the exit of the library. "You put one foot in front of the other. There, see? Not so hard."

By now Vlad couldn't keep his laughter in. Just seeing the teen so upset because he was losing an argument was funny in Vlad's book because he looked too similar to a pouting toddler who wasn't getting his way on the playground.

"Oh, don't be frustrated, Daniel," Vlad teased with a small laugh as he allowed Danny to drag him back to the front door. "I mean, it's a celebration. You should be joyful."

"Shut up," Danny told Vlad without even looking back at him. He had an objective in mind. And that was getting Vlad to the front door in one piece. This was easier said than done, of course. The teen could just tell how much Vlad was enjoying annoying the crap out of him.

"You're going to have fun, and you're going to like it!" Danny added in a serious grumble. For the first time, he felt like the annoyed adult while Vlad was the cheeky teenager. It was a terrible role reversal.

"Mmm. As fun as getting death glares from your friends and Jazz while placating your father's childish antics are, I would honestly stay here and work on that portal all night," Vlad drawled with a faint smile. "Oh, but don't let my complaining stop you from manhandling me all the way through my house. What is the rush, is what I want to know."

Danny's glare suddenly went away at the question, and he glanced back at Vlad as he flashed him a snarky grin. "Well, in your case, we're racing against the clock," he told the man, flaunting a superior smirk. "A dude your age doesn't have time to waste, Vlad."

"And now we return to the old people jokes," Vlad muttered sarcastically with a sigh. "And you wonder why I'm avoiding going with you."

"Oh, be quiet," Danny responded with a growing smile. They had finally reached the front door. The end of his journey was over. "We're not going to a pity party, Vlad."

Chuckling at his own joke, Danny let go of the man's sleeve and spun around to face him as he gripped the doorknob with one hand. He grinned up at Vlad as he opened the door, flung it open, and stepped quickly to the side just as he shouted, "Surprise!" along with the group of people standing on Vlad's doorstep.

The group of people turned out to be Ryder and Melody accompanied by their loved ones. Melody stood very closely to Matthew as she smiled back at Vlad while Ryder stood on her other side of her with his son sitting on his shoulders, balancing a white box on top of his bald head. Esperanza lingered beside Ryder, looking annoyed and uncomfortable, but willing to ride this experience out till the end.

Vlad instinctively stepped back in alarm when the door was first thrown open, but his guard went down instantly when he saw who it was on his doorstep. For a moment Vlad silently stood there with his eyes taking in each person individually. Then, with a laugh, a brilliant smile came to his features.

Shooting Danny a mock glare, Vlad told him, "You are horrible, but you already know that, don't you?"

Danny gave Vlad an innocent shrug. "I might," he admitted, his smile growing as he gestured at the group crowded in the doorway. "For the record, they ran into me. Also for the record, this is what I was hiding...but I bet you figured that out by now."

"Nice place ya got here, Vladster," Ryder butted in, taking a moment to glance around approvingly before bringing his eyes back to the man. He chuckled and grinned as he nodded his head upwards, saying to Jet, "Tell 'im what you got there, kiddo."

The little boy matched his father's grin and lifted the box off Ryder's head as he declared proudly, "We brought cake!"

Vlad grinned up at Jet as he took the cake before it dropped and splattered all over the floor he knew Jessie just cleaned. "Well, it's much appreciated," Vlad told the boy. Whispering to Ryder, Vlad said half seriously, "You better watch him. He has your inane smile, and, quite frankly, I don't trust it."

"That's probably a good call, " Ryder assured Vlad just as quietly. He laughed as he added, "He's about ten times as diabolical as I am. Not to mention, twice as cute. That makes for a deadly combination." He put a hand over the side of his mouth as he mumbled for Vlad's ears only, "I'd keep a sharp eye on this one if I were you."

Jet crossed his arms on top of Ryder's head and propped his chin on them as he smiled over at Vlad. "Aren't ya gonna open it, Mr. Vlad?" he asked, eager to see the man's reaction. His dad had told him a bunch of stories about the museum, and Vlad was definitely his favorite character in all of the exciting tales. It was like meeting Spider-Man in the flesh for the little boy.

"Oh, gawd, what did you do to it, Ryder?" Melody asked as she peered dubiously over at the cake.

Shaking his head and preparing for the worst, Vlad opened the box and everyone leaned in to see what the cake looked like. It was in a regular square shape, but on the flat surface was a colorful frosting outline of Batman. Off to the side of the iconic superhero figure, though, was a less talented creation of frosting that said the words 'Vlad' with a little arrow pointing to Batman.

Melody instantly burst into laughter but tried to stop when Vlad shot her a reproachful glare. Hanging onto Matthew's arm, she told Vlad with an innocent grin, "Oh, it's just that Matthew and I share an inside joke about Batman. That's all. Don't we, Matt?"

Looking very unsure of himself, Matthew said with a shrug, "Sure."

Chuckling under his breath, Danny nudged Vlad's arm good-naturedly as he said to Matthew, "Don't worry. I think we _all_ have an inside joke about Batman." He sent Vlad another innocent smile and added with a shrug, "Besides, the cake looks good. Can't deny that."

As Vlad turned his disapproving gaze back over to Ryder, he found the man grinning silently at him, as if he was waiting for something to happen. It didn't take Vlad much longer to figure out what that was.

Jet leaned forward a little, swinging his feet in excitement as he asked, "Don't'cha like it, Mr. Vlad? Dad said you'd really like it!"

Vlad knew he was stuck between a rock and hard place. While he would have liked to have given everyone in the room deathly glares, there could be no dirty looks turned in Jet's direction. The boy and his adorable smile could win over the iciest of hearts, and it was no match to Vlad's thawing one.

Sighing with a small smile as he looked up at Jet, Vlad told the kid, "It's perfect."

If possible, Vlad's words managed to make Jet's smile brighten up even further as he exclaimed, "Cool! Dad, dad." The little boy leaned forward to peer into his father's upside-down face as he said, "You were right, dad!"

Smiling calmly back at his son, Ryder replied knowingly, "Of course, Jet. I'm always right."

Ryder had found that acting like he always knew what he was doing was one of the most effective, if not the best, parenting techniques out there. It always seemed to assure Jet and that was really all that mattered.

Melody and Matthew shared a grin, the girl whispering with a giggle to her boyfriend, "He's so _cute_!"

"Here, all of you can come in," Vlad said as he stepped away from the door. He glanced deeper into his house with a grimace. When the week of vacation was up, Vlad had planned to move all his ghost parts and equipment back down to the basement, but now he realized he hadn't began that process soon enough. Just his luck that he would have to entertain some of the most important guests with his house looking like a crazy pack-rat of ghost junk lived there.

As the four moved on inside and Danny closed the door, Matthew stuck his hand out for Vlad to shake. As they shook hands in greeting, Matthew said with a smile, "So you're the infamous Vlad Masters Mel keeps talking about. It's good to finally meet you, Vlad."

"It's good to meet you too, Matthew," Vlad said with an honest smile. Pointing to a beaming Melody, Vlad told the other man, "You have a very brilliant girl, right there." Smirking, he added, "Only when she's not beating you up, of course."

"Oh, of course," Matthew said with a knowing grin.

"Both of you can shut up," Melody grumbled in a pretend pout as she pushed Matthew away and punched Vlad in the arm. Walking over to Ryder and Jet, she said in a huff, "I'm going to go hang out with the people who don't insult me."

"Yeah, the five-year-old," Matthew shot back, which only brought another grin to Vlad's face. He was glad to know Melody had caught herself a man who was just as annoying to her as he was. She would need someone in her everyday life that didn't let her get away with everything.

"Hey, I'm six now!" Jet declared, crossing his arms over his chest resolutely even as he continued to smile. He was pretty proud of the fact that he was so old now.

Chuckling quietly, Ryder said to Matthew as he lifted Jet off his shoulders and placed him on his feet beside Esperanza, "Don't mess with the kid's age, Matt. I told people he was three years old for years."

"Why would you do that?" Danny asked with a curious smile. He knew that he was talking to Ryder, but that still didn't quell his desire to understand the man's motives. Everything he did was just too weird not to question.

Ryder let out another laugh, patting Jet's fluffy hair as he said, "I had to teach him to count somehow, right?" The thief glanced over to Esperanza only to find the woman trailing listlessly around the hall, her eyes instinctively searching out danger that probably wasn't there.

That was pretty much the only reason the woman had agreed to come to the party. Whether she liked it or not, Ryder knew how much she worried about him and Jet.

Ryder smiled a little at Esperanza's back before leaning over to Melody and whispering, "I totally made out with Esperanza."

Melody looked a little impressed by Ryder's statement. "Way to go," she said with a giggle. "How did that happen?"

As Vlad led them down the hallway and to the nearest living room that held the least amount of junk, he explained, "Don't mind the mess. I'm working on several projects at once and kind of...got carried away."

"No freaking duh," Melody said as they were forced to squeeze through the labyrinth of parts.

"Yeah, bit of an understatement, Vlad," Danny assured the man with a grin once they had all made it safely into the living room. Without hesitation, the teen threw himself across a comfortable looking armchair, claiming it as his own.

While managing to keep a close eye on Jet and dodge all the junk in his way, Ryder confidently told Melody, "I'm just irresistible to the opposite sex, of course. Once she saw me after so long, she couldn't stop hersel- hey, Jet, don't touch that."

The thief broke off his story as he strode forward to pull the laser-y looking device out of his son's hands before placing it back on the shelf it'd come from. Pointing down at the boy, Ryder said, "No touching, Jet."

Jet pursed his lips in a pitiful pout as he nodded sullenly. Though, his sadness didn't last long as he quickly focused on the other inventions in the room and went off to explore them.

Shaking his head after the boy, Ryder returned to Melody's side as he finished with a grin, "She couldn't stop herself from making out with me."

Curling up on a big, leather couch, Melody said with a skeptical smile, "Right. Sure. Are you sure you're the chick-magnet and not Jet? 'Cause I'm pretty sure he's the cute one."

Ryder held up an index finger, saying seriously as he took a seat on the other armchair across from the couch, "That may be true, but he just reels them in. I'm the one that seals the deal."

The thief had to break off again as Jet scooted past him with a determined expression. Ryder reached out, pulled something from the boy's pocket without him even noticing, and turned to toss it into Vlad's hands where it belonged.

"Sorry about that wallet, Vlad," Ryder apologized, flashing a sheepish grin as Jet met up with Esperanza, and the woman took over responsibility of making sure he didn't steal anything else. "Kid can't help himself sometimes."

Vlad caught the wallet, frowned, checked his empty back pocket, and then frowned some more. Shaking his head, Vlad murmured incredulously, "He's definitely your son."

"Thanks, Vlad!" Ryder said cheerfully as he got comfortable in his seat and propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. He looked more than content and was obviously taking Vlad's comment as a compliment. "He's pretty awesome," the thief murmured with a smile.

Ryder looked over to Melody, Danny, and Vlad, giving them each a grateful grin as he said, "I wouldn't have seen him again if it wasn't for you guys so...thanks."

"Aw, you're welcome, Ryder," Melody said. She chuckled as she added, "Although I had no clue how we ever managed to get along at the end there."

"Miracles still happen, I guess," Vlad said as he started the leave the room. "I'll be right back. We need a knife to cut the cake and some plates."

"I'll help you carry it all," Matthew volunteered.

"Would you like to help too, Miss Esperanza?" Vlad asked the lady politely.

Esperanza raised her flinty eyes up from Jet to meet Vlad's, but said nothing in response. Sensing the rising awkward moment, Ryder quickly popped up from his seat, saying, "I'll help! I love carrying stuff."

Once he was close enough to Vlad so that Esperanza couldn't hear, Ryder whispered under his breath, "Don't take it personal, Vladster. She doesn't really talk a lot. And she doesn't like new people...or parties...or cake. Or, y'know, fun in general. She's getting better, though."

"No. I understand," Vlad said as the three traveled back through the throngs of ghost stuff, heading for the kitchen. Out of everyone there at the party, Vlad knew he was probably the only person who understood exactly how Esperanza felt about parties. Until his capture, he hadn't been a real lover of fun and he still wasn't the biggest of fans, but he was learning to enjoy such things. Hopefully she would too eventually. Living with Ryder and Jet, Vlad had a feeling she'd mellow out at some point. It was like a rule.

As the three men collected plates, silverware, and cups around the kitchen, Matthew finally said quietly as he stared down at the plates in his hands, "I don't know exactly what all of you went through in that museum. Melody still hasn't given me the entire story, but I personally really want to thank you two for bringing Melody back.

"You know, she's a whole new person now, but in a good way. She has more purpose, and she actually started talking to her family again. I think you guys helped her with that, and I appreciate everything you two and Danny did for her." He looked up at the two men finally, saying, "Thanks."

Ryder pulled his eyes away from the extremely expensive looking cups he'd discovered in the cupboard above him and looked over at Matthew. His eyes started to drift back towards the cups, but he hastily yanked them back to the other man as he smiled slightly.

"You don't gotta thank us," the thief told Matthew. "Melody's awesome, and she helped us too. I don't know if she told you, but it was just me and her in the museum for the first few weeks. And...well, I know I woulda gone crazy if she hadn't been there."

Ryder pointed over at Matt as he balanced a stack of less expensive looking cups with his free hand. "You better take good care of her, Matt," he said seriously. "She's my best friend now, and I know she's happy with you so just keep her that way, alright?"

Brightening up, Ryder added cheerfully, "And you guys can still totally babysit if you want to! Jet likes you already, I promise."

Matthew gave a laugh. "I guess pickpocketing in the Walker family is a term of endearment," he said.

"As long as they give whatever it was back," Vlad joked as he grinned maliciously at Ryder.

The thief didn't look fazed by Vlad's smile in the least as he raised his chin and said, "We don't steal from friends...but, if we do, we give the stuff back every time."

Ryder bobbed his head up and down in agreement with his own statement. He paused after a moment before adding slowly as he looked at Vlad, "I promise to empty out Jet's pockets before we leave as a side-note."

"Good," Vlad said, grin still there. "And then I'll empty yours."

Ryder's gaze shifted towards the ceiling as if he was considering Vlad's statement. After a pause, he smirked and nodded. "Fair enough," he agreed, smirk growing into a grin. "Now let's go eat some cake."

"Alright, alright, let's go," Vlad sighed with a shake of his head while Matthew tried not to crack up. All Melody's stories about Ryder were more than correct. She hadn't done his character justice when she tried to explain him to Matthew.

Meanwhile, back in the living room, Melody watched Jet gallivant around the room in a curious frenzy as she asked Danny, "So what have you been doing since you've gotten back, short stuff? Did you have to go to school right away? That would totally suck."

Danny smiled a little, his gaze trailing after Jet as well. The kid seemed to see every bit of the room as a new adventure waiting to be explored. He was just like a miniature version of Ryder. It was almost scary.

Bringing his eyes over to Melody, the teen sighed a little as he nodded unhappily. "Yeah, I had to go back," he said in a surly mutter. "My parents gave me a couple days off, but I already missed a few weeks. I really don't need to be behind anymore. Other than that...everything's been pretty normal; even for my standards. It's kinda awesome, actually."

Smile returning at the thought, Danny asked curiously, "What about you?"

"Well, I moved back in with Matt," Melody said with a smile. "but I got bored right away. He's gone all day teaching, so I don't have much to do besides searching for a decent job. So that's what I've been doing. Oh, but I did stop by my parents' house the other day. Even played some Halo with my little brother. Heh. This girl still has some skills. I kicked his ass and totally won his respect, 'cause I'm awesome."

Danny couldn't help but laugh. He didn't think he'd ever miss Melody and Ryder as much as he had in the past week. It was nice to see them again, and he could only hope they all managed to stay in touch in the future. Knowing Ryder, he had a lot of hope that would happen.

"So have you put your thieving career behind you?" Danny asked with a smile. He was pretty proud of Melody for going to see her family like she did. He'd been even more proud if the girl decided to use her smarts for the greater good.

Melody shrugged indifferently, saying, "It's fun and easy, but it's too dangerous. Especially with, you know, wanting to start a family and all that jazz." She looked away from Danny as she said more seriously, "Honestly, I'm a bit interested in, well, this stuff." She pointed around the room, continuing, "When Vlad was teaching me all about ghost technology and crap in the museum, it was actually pretty fascinating. And I picked it up really easily. I just...get it, ya know? You're the one with ghost busters as parents, though. Tell me, is there a career there?"

Danny forced down a laugh of surprise. Honestly, he hadn't seen that coming at all. He made a mental note to share the news with Ryder so that they could tease Melody about that later.

Becoming more thoughtful, the teen replied slowly, "It depends. I mean, my parents used to travel all over the place to find work before they had me and my sister. Now they just make a bunch of ghost weapons all the time. They're always pretty busy, but I think people are starting to take ghost stuff seriously now."

Chuckling, Danny said, "As long as you don't use any of your future, awesome inventions on me, I'd say to go for it."

"Miss Melody!" Jet suddenly exclaimed as he popped up over the arm of the couch Melody was sitting on. He leaned on the cushioned arm rest as he asked the girl with wide eyes, "Are you gonna be a ghost buster?"

Melody couldn't keep in a giggle as she gushed over the kid's abounding cuteness levels. "If they change their ugly jumpsuit outfits, I totally will," she answered Jet, flashing Danny a teasing grin.

Danny just smiled at Melody as Jet's eyes got even rounder, and he whispered in excitement, "I'm gonna know a ghost buster." He didn't hesitate to bounce in place before climbing up onto the couch to sit beside Melody as if claiming his spot near the future ghost buster.

As Jet sat down, Esperanza moved closer to keep a sharp eye on the little boy. These people didn't seem too untrustworthy, but she wasn't about to take a chance when it came down to the Walker family.

Obvious to his nanny's gaze, Jet looked over at Danny and questioned him next, "Mr. Danny, are you really a super hero? My dad said you were, but are you really?"

Chuckling, the teen leaned back in his seat, gave the boy a giant grin, and stated, "Yep, that's me." Danny lowered his voice to tell the boy in a secretive voice, "And Vlad really is Batman. Right, Melody?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Melody said right away, nodding enthusiastically. While picking on Danny was a fun past time, teasing the life out of Vlad was considered more like Melody's favorite sport. "He has the cape and mask and everything." Although she knew it was probably wrong to lie to little kids, this time she made an exception.

"Oh wow!" Jet said, grinning in even more excitement. He didn't suspect either Melody or Danny of lying to him, and he probably wouldn't have minded if he did. The boy couldn't believe his luck. He had a bunch of new friends that were all so cool.

"Who's ready for cake?" Ryder exclaimed loudly as he and the others strolled back into the room with the proper utensils and plates. The thief paused momentarily to smile at Melody and Jet. He'd always known that his best friend and son would get along, but it was just really nice to see it.

"I know someone does," Ryder continued, leveling his knowing stare on Jet who beamed right back at him. He didn't hesitate to plop a pre-cut piece of cake on a plate into the boy's lap. As he handed him a spoon, he said, "Just one piece for now, okay?"

Jet nodded in understanding, taking a huge bite of the cake as he did. With his mouth still full, Jet mumbled to Vlad, "Mr. Vlad, do you have a batcave under your house?"

Vlad had been about to hand Danny a plate of cake when he heard this. Before Danny could snatch the plate away, Vlad lifted it out of reach and glared down at the teen in annoyance. "What have you been telling this kid about me while I was gone?" he asked Danny, releasing a flummoxed sigh.

Danny could only smile innocently back up at the man. Ordinarily, he probably would've just told him what he'd said, but he really wanted that cake. "Nothing, Vlad," he answered, forcing his expression to become pathetic and pitiful as he kept his eyes on his cake. "I wouldn't say anything that wasn't the truth."

Vlad rolled his eyes, grumbling down at the boy, "Not even trying to come up with a decent lie, I see." An unkind, snarky smile hinted at Vlad's lips as he took a bite out of the piece of cake he had been planning to give Danny as retribution.

Ignoring the look of shock and horror on Danny's face, Vlad placed the plate in the teen's lap, saying, "Don't worry, dear boy. The cake is delicious."

As Danny stared down at the ruined cake, he heard Jet whisper, his cheeks bulging with food, "Oh _snap_."

Raising his eyes to glare at Vlad's back as he turned away, Danny remembered back in the museum when they'd had the food fight. Vlad had been the one to hit him first with his own tray of food. With the thought of vengeance in his mind, a grin slid to the teen's face.

Danny quickly reached out, snatched the cake off his plate, and threw it right into the back of Vlad's head.

Vlad froze in astonishment, the rest of the room doing the same as they all watched and waited in hushed suspense to see what Vlad would do now that a wad of cake was stuck to the back of his head all thanks to the ghost kid. Releasing an astounded, acrid chuckle, Vlad wiped off the cake with his hand and shook it off onto the coffee table.

"Oh, you shouldn't have done that," Vlad said with a vicious smile as he grabbed his own piece of cake sitting on the table and turned back around to face Danny. Walking briskly toward the teen, Vlad ordered, "Hold still."

"No way!" Danny shouted as he leapt to his feet, laughing at the look on Vlad's face. Hitting him with the cake had totally been worth it. Pointing dramatically at the man, Danny declared for the dramatic value alone, "You shouldn't have eaten my cake!"

"You tell 'im, Danny!" Ryder agreed as he sat down and began to eat his own cake. He was more than willing to watch another food fight while eating cake.

"Well, you shouldn't have been spewing lies to some poor, innocent child about me!" Vlad shouted back with a laugh as he chased Danny around the armchair.

"Cake and a show," Melody commented with an evil smile. "This trip was totally worth it."

"They weren't lies!" Danny laughed out, dodging to the side to dash past Vlad and run around to the other side of the couch. He leaned down slightly and told Jet with a grin, "Seriously, he's really Batman."

Waiting for just the perfect time, Vlad snatched up his chance when he saw Danny distracted with Jet. He took swift aim from behind the arm chair and threw his piece of cake, meeting his mark dead on. As the cake spatted into the side of Danny's face, the man let out a victorious cry.

"Justice has been served," Vlad told the group with a smirk.

With wide eyes, Jet murmured in utter astonishment, "Wow. He really _is_ Batman."

Danny's grimace as he wiped cake from his hair quickly morphed into a triumphant grin. Vlad may have gotten him back for the cake, but he was the ultimate victor in the end. He'd successfully convinced Jet that Vlad was Batman. Mission accomplished.

Just as Danny opened his mouth to concede to Vlad that his revenge had been done, but the words died in his throat when Jet stuffed his tiny hand into his half-eaten cake and flung a big piece of it into Matthew's chest. He giggled loudly as he said, "More justice!"

Matthew was too shocked to react at first. He looked up when he heard his girlfriend give a snort of laughter at his misfortune. Melody gave him a guilty grin and shrugged. There wasn't much Matthew could do to Jet, him being just a kid and all...and the fact that he was way too adorable to throw cake at. On the other hand, there was one way to get his revenge.

Because his own cake had already been finished, Matthew reached out to grab Melody's to use against her with one of Melody's own mischievous smiles.

"No, no, no!" the girl squealed with some giggles as she tried to shield her cake from Matthew. "Not this again!"

"Don't worry, Miss Melody!" Jet assured the girl as he bounced to his feet on the couch. He quickly threw another glob of his cake into Matthew's face to defend his new friend, laughing as he said, "I'll protect you!"

Ryder sat back in his seat, smiling as he wiped a pretend tear from his eye. "That's my boy," he chuckled out. "Defending the weak and down-trodden. I knew I raised him right."

"Oh, that's just unfair," Matthew said with a laugh. "And I thought I had a rough time teaching a bunch of 8th graders. It's nice to know some people don't ever grow up. How you lived with these weird people for months, Melody, I have no clue."

Still giggling like a fool, Melody leaned over Jet and wiped off some frosting from Matthew's face so she could eat it. "Thanks, babe," the man said with a sigh. Glancing down at Jet, Matthew's smile returned as he wiped off some frosting from his face and and dotted it on Jet's nose. "That's payback," he told the kid.

Jet's grin widened, and he plopped back onto the cushions, looking more than just proud of himself. He didn't seem to take offense to the frosting as he dragged his sleeve across his face and giggled happily. "It wasn't justice, though!" the boy replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he nodded once.

"But it was definitely sweet," Matthew assured the kid. He looked up when Vlad dangled an unused working rag in front of him that he had found in the room. "Thanks," Matthew said as he took the rag and began to wipe off his face.

Turning to Danny, Vlad offered another rag for the teen. "You have a little bit of cake in your hair," he pointed out teasingly with a snarky grin.

"Oh, really?" Danny replied with a raised eyebrow. He put a hand up to his frosting coated hair and exclaimed in pretend shock, "Holy delicious frosting, Batman!"

Before Vlad could snatch it away like he'd done to the cake, Danny reached out and took the rag with a smirk. He rubbed it through his hair, forcing it to spike up into unruly clumps. At least they were clean unruly clumps. Glaring jokingly up at Vlad, the teen muttered, "This could've been avoided if you hadn't eaten _my_ cake."

Looping an arm around Danny's shoulders, Vlad said, "True. Yet my revenge could have been avoided if you could miraculously learn to keep your mouth shut. Maybe one day, though. I like to dream big."

"_Right_," Danny sarcastically agreed with an eye roll. He grinned up at Vlad as he said, "You'd go into a deep depression if I ever learned to keep my mouth shut...right, Ryder?"

Though he hadn't been paying attention at all to their conversation, Ryder lifted his fork up and declared, "Yup!" before he returned to his cake.

"See?" Danny said, giving Vlad another grin. "If Ryder agrees, it must be true."

"Oh, surely I can't fight the logic in that sound argument," Vlad said sarcastically.

Despite himself, the man grinned and shook his head as he steered Danny and himself over to another couch. Collapsing into it with a happy sigh, Vlad looked out at his new group of friends. He was momentarily reminded of the four of them sitting at that picnic table, endlessly talking and teasing each other until they went to bed. At least the Collector had produced something good from all the bad he created. Somehow the fear and anger towards that ghost had made a family Vlad couldn't even hope for.

Relaxing back into the cushions like Vlad, Danny smiled out across the room. Much like Vlad, he was having flashbacks of the museum. For once, though, he wasn't thinking about all the bad stuff. It was so weird. Danny had thought that it would take him much longer to recover from the horrible experience of captivity. But when he was sitting here with everyone he'd experienced that feeling with, he didn't feel upset. He just felt content with his life.

Danny crossed his arms comfortably over his chest, letting out a happy sigh. A thought suddenly occurred to the teen as he brought his eyes back into focus and asked curiously, "Hey, has anyone heard that stupid ding sound yet? My mom was making dinner last night, and the oven totally freaked me out when it went off."

"Oh my gosh, yeah!" Melody said with a nervous laugh. "I had a run in with an elevator with that bell. Ug. Not fun."

"She refused to go up in an elevator with me the other day for an interview because of that sound," Matthew grumbled, still bit confused about the entire thing. "We had to walk up 15 flights of steps. All because of one bell. One bell!"

Danny let out a laugh as he shook his head and told Matthew, "We had a bad experience with an elevator." He paused before adding with a shudder, "And it's more than just a bell."

"Yeah," Ryder agreed, having finished his cake. He dropped the empty plate onto the table in front of him and grimaced as he remembered what the bell signified to him. "It's like...the symbol of all things horrible and terrible!"

"Dad yelled at the microwave the other day when my easy-mac was done," Jet told the group with a giggle. Before Ryder could object, Esperanza - who was leaning on the back of the chair he sat in - spoke for the first time.

"And then he made me go buy a new microwave," the woman said, shooting Ryder an annoyed glare that he returned with a nervous grin. "It had to make a different sound or he wouldn't buy it."

The rest of the room couldn't help but laugh at the mental image of Ryder screaming at a microwave. For some it was an easier picture to imagine than others.

Sensing it was his turn to answer, Vlad shrugged, saying a bit sheepishly, "Since everyone else has confessed, I have admit that I instinctively blew up a toaster oven the other day that had that bell. My maid Jessie wasn't very happy with me about that one, and explaining how it got that way was harder than the clean up job afterwards."

"Holy crap!" Danny exclaimed through a surprised laugh. "You blew up a toaster?" The teen couldn't stop himself from cracking up at imagining Vlad attacking a poor innocent toaster oven. The mental image was just too hilarious to not laugh at. Danny could hardly believe it.

Ryder looked just as amused as Danny did, but he put aside the feeling to lean forward and say with a raised eyebrow and a grin, "Jessie, hm? Is maid code for something? Like...secret crush?"

Vlad gave a laugh at just the thought of him romantically liking his maid. Although they shared the same stubborn quality, the lady's personality was one that took very many months for Vlad to tolerate. Jessie was a real piece of work. It was only because she cleaned the house so well for such little pay and with no questions asked that he had kept her around for so long.

"I think she is married, Ryder," Vlad told the man. "And she is just a maid, so don't read anything into it."

"Uh-huh," Ryder agreed, nodding slowly as he leaned back in his seat. "Sure, Vlad. It starts out like that, but then it blossoms into much more." The thief paused as if to gather his courage before he looked up at Esperanza and gave her a brilliant smile, "Right, Espy?"

Esperanza narrowed her eyes back down at Ryder, not looking pleased in the least by his statement. Chuckling nervously, Ryder muttered at Vlad and Danny as he slouched in his seat, "So, like I was saying, how'd that fight with the Collector go there at the end? You guys never told us what happened. And I'm not changing the subject or anything."

Vlad frowned at the memory of the battle with the Collector. Everything Vlad had cared about had almost been lost during that fight, and there were strong emotions that got carried along with the horrible yet also victorious memory. He pressed his lips together, trying to decide what to say and how to say it to keep the lighthearted mood going without flat out lying.

Forcing a smile to his lips, he answered while ruffling Danny's hair, "The credit should all go to this one right here. His dramatic little trick at the end saved us all."

Both eyebrows rising in surprise, Ryder said, "You don't say?"

Danny gave a small, abashed shrug when everyone looked at him. Like Vlad, he didn't really like to think about the final fight. Of course, he was proud of himself for taking the Collector down once and for all. However, he just didn't like how he'd been forced to do it.

Even though it was his clone that had gotten shot, the duplicate was apart of him at the time. A part of him had felt like it'd gotten shot and killed as well. It was an unpleasant experience. Not to mention, he didn't like that he'd had to trick Vlad for the scheme to work. He still felt guilty about that.

"It...it, uh, wasn't that big a deal," Danny eventually said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, don't be modest now, shrimp," Melody said. "'Cause I lived months with you, and I know how much you can brag."

Danny rolled his eyes, giving Melody a playful smirk. "Right, _I'm_ the one who likes to brag," he told her teasingly. Before she could reply, he released a soft sigh and leaned back, letting his gaze drift away as he thought back to that last battle. He didn't really wanna talk about it, but everyone here deserved to know the details.

"Well," the teen began, keeping his eyes focused off in the distance so he wouldn't have to look at anyone. "The Collector put on this ring that gave him this...I don't even know. It, like, super charged him. And nothing we were doing seemed to even be hurting him that bad. He just kept getting back up and taking all our hits like they were nothing."

Danny rolled his shoulders when he thought about it. He and Vlad could have so easily lost that fight if it hadn't been for what he'd done.

"So...I got hit pretty good at one point and kinda blacked out. When I came to, I saw that Vlad wasn't doing so good so I...cloned myself-"

"You can clone yourself?" Jet interrupted, eyes wide in disbelief. His dad had told him a bit about Danny and Vlad's powers, but that was just too cool.

Danny gave the boy a short smile and nodded as he continued solemnly, "Yeah. I cloned myself because the Collector had a gun and...uh, well, he was gonna use it on Vlad, but I tricked him with the clone and...it got shot instead of me." The teen cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "I stole the ring while he was distracted and that's...that's how we beat him."

"Probably learned that stealing trick from Ryder," Melody said with a knowing grin to mask whatever grave emotions she was feeling. The two must have cut it really close, and just knowing how close they all had been to losing gave her a small harrowing feeling.

"I still can't get over all this ghost stuff," Matthew muttered with a baffled shake of his head, "as well as crazy and wicked that Collector ghost was toward you four. It was all just..._sick_."

"Yeah," Danny quietly agreed with both Melody and Matthew, watching with a sad smile as Jet slid off the couch and went over to sit on Ryder's lap. The little boy didn't hesitate to hug his dad, and Ryder instantly returned the gesture as he stared straight ahead with a thoughtful expression.

"But he's not gonna hurt anyone else ever again," Danny continued softly, his eyebrows furrowing as he gave a firm nod. "I wish you all could've seen his face when he knew he was losing. And without his power, he can't do anything anymore. We won...that's all that matters."

"Yeah!" Melody piped up in agreement. The girl was more than ready to move on with her life. Never was she someone who mulled around in the past, and she wasn't about to start that bad habit that night. Melody briefly shared a smile with Matthew before raising her glass of lemonade that had been served with the cake. "We should totally make a toast," she declared with a grin.

"Yeah, we should!" Danny agreed whole-heartedly as he snatched up his own glass and lifted it upwards. "What are we toasting?" he questioned with a smile. He looked around at everyone as he asked, "New beginnings? Or is that too cheesy?"

"We could toast cheesy things," Ryder suggested as he held Jet with one arm and his cup with the other. "'Cause cheese is pretty awesome."

"Then we'll have to add world peace somewhere in there," Matthew said with a grin shot in Melody's direction, delighted to see her roll her eyes.

Snatching up his own glass while wrapping his free arm around Danny's shoulders, Vlad raised the cup and said with a genuine smile, "A toast to freedom and new beginnings!"

"So we _are_ going with cheesy things then," Danny said, giving Vlad a teasing grin before he lifted his glass up higher to join the man's.

The rest of the group held up their cups, each smiling for the same yet differing reasons. They'd all gone through hell and back again to get to this point, but, in the end, it was worth it. They'd started out so dysfunctional, but now they were a family in all the ways that it mattered.

Raising his glass up high, Ryder said with a blooming grin, "To freedom, new beginnings, world peace, cheese, and big butts everywhere! Amen!"

The Collector

Written By: Pixiegirl13 and Mutantlover09

A/N: Ha ha! That ending line still cracks me up. I hope this ending sums everything up for you readers. We still have an epilogue coming at some point, but it's not very long.

ML and I really want to thank you readers for sticking with us down this long road. It's hard to write a fic this long and get this many readers to keep with us the entire time. You readers have been really awesome and supportive this entire time!

We also want to thank everyone who have done fan art. There's been some that we just stumbled upon on DeviantART, and it's really exciting to see readers taking so much interest in our writing! It's very inspiring. Others have posted links to their art in reviews, and we've really enjoyed looking through them! They're all so wonder, so thank you to everyone for the fan art!

It's sad to finish up a fan fiction after working on something for so long, but it's also a good, relieving feeling as well. All it really does it get me geared up for another fan fiction project I know will pop up down the line. I've got a few one shots stashed away, and there's a Danny Phantom and Hellboy crossover I want to eventually finish and post. So hopefully I'll be seeing you readers some more in the future! I'm not sure about ML's future fan fic plans, though, but she might have something stashed away in that creative mind of hers.

I'll try my best to answer your reviews! Thanks again for reading!


	34. Update of Awesomeness!

Update!

Alright, everyone. There's huge news I have for all of you fans, followers, casual readers, and so on and so forth! My friend Mutantlover and I are very, very proud to announce that after months of hard work we have finally self published our very own book! We did it all ourselves. We both wrote it, hired an amazing illustrator, and even got an editor to make sure it flows smoothly and looks pretty.

It's been an amazing journey for the both of us these past few years of working on this series. Yes, this first book is going to be part of a much bigger story! And it has a lot of familiar subjects that you Danny Phantom fans might enjoy. And to all of you who read our The Collector fic and enjoyed the character Ryder Walker, we are both excited to say that Ryder is one of our main protagonists of the series. We knew right away that his character was so much fun that he really needed his own spin off tale where readers got to know him and his goofy character more.

Right now the book is only in ebook format. We have it available on the Barnes and Nobles Nook Book site and also on Amazon for the Kindle and Kindle Fire. But don't worry if you don't have those kinds of ereaders! Amazon Kindle has an app for all PC, Mac, and smart phone devices that allow you to read the book there. So if you have a computer or phone, you'll be able to read it! I even downloaded the app on my Mac to see how it works, and I have to say that it's amazing and so easy. And it's free!

You fan fiction readers are just the best. You guys have supported me since the very beginning. I wouldn't be where I am now without your comments and criticism shaping me one chapter at a time for all these years. I know I haven't updated anything on the site in a long time, but I still remember all my reviews and all the love you people gave me during my prime here.

Now, if you want to read our new book or just simply want to support us, here's what you can do:

Buy it at B&N: www. /w/the-rift-ks-young /1117917692? ean=2940148941583

Buy it at Amazon: www . / Rift-K-S-Young-ebook/dp/ B00HMUHYZ0 /ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1388690717&sr=1-1&keywords=k.s.+young

(Take out the spaces before putting these links up in your search bar.)

The series is called The Rift Series, and it's under our penname K.S. Young. It's only $6.99 and available in English to any country. So that means you readers from all over the world can buy it and read it! The book has 15 chapters to it and has 8 awesome illustrations of our main characters done by Anna Jones. She also did the cover art of Ryder. She's amazing, sweet, and a joy to work with. She'll be doing more cover art as the series goes by.

To learn more about the series and/or if you have any questions or comments, you can contact us through Facebook, tumblr, and email.

Facebook: /theriftseries

Tumblr: ksyoung therift. tumblr .com

Email: ks. young. therift gmail .com

(Again, take out the spaces before putting the link in your search box.)

Mutantlover and I are excited to see where this series takes us. We can't wait to hear what you readers think of it. We really hope that you enjoy it! If you do like it, please tell others about it and/or review it on Amazon or B&N. You can even like the book on Facebook. Spread the word! Support us any way you can. We're going to try to get the word of it out to others, but we're hoping you amazing readers can help us with this job. Even just something small helps in a big way.

I hope to hear from you guys soon! I love you guys so much! Thank you for your support and love and just everything! Let's make this New Year awesome!


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